


The Wayward Winchester

by peanutiger



Category: Supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 184,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8291390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanutiger/pseuds/peanutiger
Summary: Talia Andrews has known the Winchesters her entire life and when Dean Winchester suddenly shows up at her front door one day, asking for her help in finding his father.  She doesn't hesitate to go with him despite not having been on a hunt in years.  Little did she know, that this one decision would change her life forever in more ways than she could ever imagine.  Join her journey as she struggles to find her place in the world of hunting once more, if she even has one.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I also make Supernatural Music Videos:  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLx41R4x8-Wp8jWdI_ohYJsSDNbQUoaUI

Caleb Andrews woke with a start, upon hearing a consistent knocking upon the door, and jumped up from the couch where he had dozed off.  He stumbled drowsily towards the front door and opened it slowly, only to be greeted by the face of his long-time friend and former neighbor, John Winchester.  Caleb was startled to see the man, it had been months since John had last come by, and it barely registered in his exhausted mind that John had his two sons, Dean and Sam, standing behind him shyly, barely visible in the fading light.

"John, what are you doing here?" He questioned while rubbing the sleep from his eyes and waving a hand to invite the group into his home and out of the surprisingly chilly night air. 

"You didn't think I would miss coming to see your daughter for the first time?" 

John laughed and embraced Caleb in a sudden hug, clapping him on the back.  Caleb returned the hug. He was pleasantly surprised to see his friend, after recovering from the shock of seeing a man who had only sparingly stopped by in the past few years.  John’s previous visits usually consisted of a quick hello as he dropped off Dean and Sam, asking Caleb if he could take care of them for a while so that John could go on a hunt somewhere nearby. During these times, Caleb often feared what the obsession John had developed since the death of his wife was doing to his two young boys.

"Caleb, honey" a faint voice echoed from the hallway,  "who are you talking to you? I just got Talia to fall asleep and I don't want her waking up again."

Caleb's wife, Rachel, walked into the room and stopped dead at the sight of the three Winchesters gathered in her living room at such an hour of the night.  

"John, it's good to see you. What brings you to this part of town?"

"I just came by to see Talia and congratulate the two of you. Caleb called me when she was born and I drove down here as soon as I could."

"Oh, well she just fell asleep and it's late, so why don't I set you three up in the guest room and you can see her in the morning. Or, more likely, you'll hear her at some point during the night. She hasn't quite settled into a regular sleeping schedule." Rachel said with a laugh.

\-------------------------------------

(6 months later)

Caleb awoke to the sounds of Talia’s cries echoing into the bedroom. He looked over and saw Rachel was already sitting up and pulling a robe on as she told him to go back to sleep; that she would take care of it. He mumbled a quick thank you and then rolled over and quickly fell back asleep.

His eyes shot open moments later as another cry rang out in the night. This one was filled with utter terror and pain and the fear that raced down his spine startled him awake like an electric shock. It was not the cry of his infant child, awoken in the middle of the night as usual, it sounded like his wife. He immediately jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hallway towards Talia’s room, nearly slipping and falling as he rounded the corner at a full sprint.

As he raced into Talia’s room, he froze for a moment in the doorway as he swore he saw a cloud of black smoke streaking across the room and exiting through the open window. Rubbing his eyes, he thought to himself that he must be hallucinating from lack of sleep; Talia had been keeping both him and Rachel up all night for the past couple weeks. He walked into the room, brushing the incident off and stumbled over something lying on the ground but he ignored it as he rushed over to check on his daughter. 

Tears were streaked down the infant’s cheeks and her wide eyes were full of terror but she was strangely quiet as she lay in her crib looking up at him. Caleb was confused and then, he realized he hadn’t seen his wife when he’d entered the room. Suddenly, he remembered the second cry that had been the reason why he’d sprinted here in the first place.

Just as the thought struck him, he felt a warm liquid seeping under his foot. He froze and with a paralyzing sense of dread, he slowly turned around and looked down to see what he had tripped over upon entering the room. There, lying prostrate on the ground, was his wife. Blood was slowly leaking from a stab wound on her stomach.

Caleb let out a sharp cry of horror and bent down, shaking her body harshly. “Rachel! Rachel! Honey, wake up!” He fumbled his hands on her neck, searching desperately for a pulse but could find none and he sobbed aloud at the realization that his wife was dead. “No! Don’t leave me! Don’t make me raise our daughter alone!” He lamented, “Talia needs you, and I need you.”

He clutched her body close to him and rested his head on top of hers as tears streamed down his face. Out of nowhere a strange, gruff voice broke the silence in the room.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this. She was never meant to die.”

Caleb looked up in shock and saw a man that he hadn’t noticed before, standing behind the door, hidden in the shadows. He stood up quickly and faced the stranger as he yelled angrily:

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?” As he spoke, the moonlight from the window glinted off something in the strange man’s hand and Caleb noticed with fright that the man was holding a long, thin silver dagger in his hand. The blade was coated in blood that was dripping slowly onto the carpet. His wife’s blood, he realized. His anger rose as he stared at it. The man, upon seeing where Caleb’s gaze was fixed, quickly hid the blade behind the flaps of the long trench coat he was wearing.

“You killed my wife!” Caleb shouted out furiously as he stepped angrily towards the intruder.

“I did. And I’m sorry, but she was possessed and interfering in my task.” The gruff voice spoke again.

Caleb froze, surprised at the seemingly sincere regret in the stranger’s voice and puzzled by his words. “What do you mean she was possessed?” 

“A demon was trying to stop me from accomplishing my mission.” Caleb froze at the word demon. The only other person he’d heard say that word with such conviction was John Winchester. He’d heard John tell him stories about all the things that went bump in the night and how they were actually real but it wasn’t until now that he actually believed it and as he stared at the man in front of him he wondered aloud:

“What are you?”

“That is not important for you to know. All you need to know right now is that your daughter is very special and one day, I will return to take her so she may fulfill her destiny. Until that time, it is your responsibility to keep her safe. Do not fail in this task.”

With this ominous declaration, the stranger disappeared in an instant as the sound of rustling wings reverberated through the room. Caleb blinked in surprise at the spot where a man, or whatever he’d been, had just been standing a moment before and he questioned what in the hell had just happened. Maybe this was all just a terrible dream he thought. 

However, at this moment, Talia started bawling aloud again and as he turned towards the noise, he spotted the body of his wife on the floor, a stark reminder that this was very real. He stared down at her body as he was struck with a wave of grief and his legs weakened until he collapsed onto the floor next to her.

He clutched her hand desperately as Talia’s cries continued but he couldn’t find the energy to get up and comfort her. Holding onto his wife his yelled out, his voice cracking with sorrow:

“Oh Rachel, what am I supposed to do now?”

He lost track of how long he lay there on the ground, crying over the body of his dead wife until finally, he rose to his feet and picked up Talia from her crib. She hadn’t stopped crying and he cooed gently to her as he rocked her back and forth in a comforting rhythm. He stood there at a loss for a few minutes until he realized there was only one, very obvious, thing to do. Resolved, he carried Talia in his arms as he walked into the kitchen to call his longtime friend, John Winchester.


	2. Chapter 2

            Talia woke up with a gasp, tears streaming down her face as she shuddered with the remembered horror of the nightmare.  The memory of that evening had always haunted her dreams but it had gotten worse in the last few years since she had been living on her own. She had been forced to adapt to a very interrupted sleeping schedule or occasionally, functioning on no sleep at all.

            Previously, she had been living on the road with the Winchesters traveling across the country and going after everything that went bump in the night.  John Winchester was the closest thing to a father she had, after the death of her own dad, and he had raised her on the road along with his two sons, Sam and Dean, who had been her best friends for as long as she could remember. 

            She had been living, and hunting, with the Winchesters until three years ago when she had gotten badly hurt on a hunt and ended up in the hospital.  After that, John had refused to allow her to hunt anymore and had insisted that she stay in one place so she could stay safe and finish high school.

            Talia had fought tooth and nail against this decision, wanting nothing more than to stay with the only family she had left and terrified at the thought of being alone.  Not only that, but this whole event had taken place exactly a year after Sam had left for college and Talia knew how hard his departure had been, especially on Dean.  The last thing she wanted to do was to repeat the process and hurt Dean anymore by leaving as well even though she would not be leaving by choice.  However, despite many arguments and her best efforts, Talia was forced to watch John and Dean drive away from the window of her new home, truly alone for the first time.

            Realizing that she would not fall back asleep anytime soon, Talia grabbed a blanket off her bed, wrapping it around herself, and trudged into the living room of her small flat.  With nothing better to do, she plopped down on a couch and turned on the TV looking for something to watch to take her mind off the nightmare she had. She browsed through several channels before settling on a rerun of an episode from one of her favorite shows. She laid back, tugging the blanket up to her chin and burrowing into the couch as she did her best to focus on the show playing in front of her.  A few hours later, she finally managed to fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning, and she passed out on the couch with the TV playing steadily in the background.

\------------------------------------------

           

            A sharp knocking on the door startled Talia awake and for a moment she froze in horror, thinking she was having another nightmare. However, she soon realized that there was bright light shining through the nearby window, which meant it must be late morning, and that the insistent knocking was coming from her front door.  Groggily untangling herself from the web of blankets she had gotten herself into during the night, she stumbled towards the door and peered through the peephole.  Upon discovering who was standing on her front porch, she immediately wrenched the door open.

            “Dean!!” She lunged forward to wrap him up in a tight hug which he promptly returned with a chuckle. It had been awhile since he had last managed to stop by and she was as thrilled as always to see her best friend.

            “I see you got all dressed up to see me as usual” Dean quipped with a pointed look at the pajamas was still wearing.

            “Hey! It’s not my fault that you decided to suddenly show up out of the blue at this ungodly early hour of the morning! I was peacefully asleep before you came along and interrupted me!” Talia responded with a sharp poke to Dean’s chest as she fixed him with her best glare.

            “Early?!? It’s almost 11:30 Talia, it’s barely even morning anymore.”

            “Yeah well what can I say? I’m a true night owl.” Talia then turned and gestured for Dean to follow her into the house.

            “So what brings you to this part of town. Not that I’m not glad to see you, because you know I am but usually you give me more heads up and I would have made some pie if I knew you were stopping by.” She had a sudden irrational fear that he somehow knew about the packet that was laying upstairs on her bed next to her empty duffle bag. That was silly though because there was no way he could no about that but she was terrified that he had figured it out before she could talk to him about it and suddenly she blurted out.

            “I have something to tell you!”

            “I think my dad’s missing.”

            She let out a little laugh as they both spoke out at the same time. Then it hit her, what Dean had said, and the laugh died out on her lips.

            “Wait, what? John’s missing?!” Despite the huge fight that they had when he decided to leave her in this house, Talia still loved John and cared deeply for the man.

            “Yeah, he went hunting and hasn’t been back in a few days and I’m worried about him.” Dean ran his hand through the back of his hair as he added, “I might just be going crazy and overthinking this but something tells me he’s in trouble and I wanted to see if you would help me find him?”

            He ended the last part in a questioning tone as he glanced at her. While to most people, the question may have seemed like a casual and friendly invitation and that it meant little to Dean if she came with him or not, Talia knew better. She had known Dean her entire life and she recognized the desperation that shone in his bright green eyes and she realized that Dean was scared and didn’t want to do this alone.

            For the briefest of moments, Talia hesitated as she considered the packet that lay upstairs but as she looked at Dean, and the haggard appearance he had that told her he had driven all night to get here, she knew her decision.  John had raised her for much of her life and was like a second father, she could not just abandon him if he was in danger nor could she leave Dean to look for him all by himself.  Also, a part of her hungered to be back on the hunt and, as weird as it was, she missed the hunting lifestyle.  Besides, she reasoned, it shouldn’t take too long to find John and then she could get back in time to deal with the packet and everything she still had to do about it. In the meantime, she decided not to mention it to Dean, it was maybe not the best thing to do, but in the moment, she figured he had enough on his mind and he would most certainly not let her come with him if he knew. Resolved in what she had chosen she spoke:

            “Of course I’ll come with you Dean.” The wide grin that broke out on Dean’s face at her words just served to further reaffirm that Talia was making the right decision.

            “Awesome! I wanted to leave as soon as possible before the trail gets cold. Oh and we are going to stop by Stanford on the way to pick up Sammy.” Dean trailed off at the end sounding unsure of whether or not Sam would actually come with them.

            “I’m sure Sam will come with once he knows John is in trouble” Talia placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder trying to sounds as confident as possible in what she said. Dean smiled gratefully at her and then turned towards the kitchen.

            “Well, I’m starving so why don’t I grab some food while you go upstairs and throw a bag together for the trip.” Dean was already in the kitchen rummaging through your fridge and pulling out different foods as he finished his sentence.

            “Oh please, make yourself at home Dean! And feel free to use whatever you want from the kitchen, I bought all this food especially for you!” Talia muttered sarcastically to herself as she headed into her bedroom to pack a bag.

            “I heard that!” Dean shouted from the kitchen.

            Talia rolled her eyes and began considering what she would need. It had been so long since she had been hunting that she wasn’t exactly sure what clothes to bring anymore. First things first, she pulled out the small collection of knives and guns she kept in a bag under bed for emergencies. Placing it next to the duffel that was already on her bed from before, she started transferring her weapons into the duffel.  Then, she turned towards her closet and began scanning through her clothes and pulling out different pieces of clothing. The whole process didn’t take longer than 20 minutes and once she was done packing everything she went to zip up the bag when she noticed the packet lying on her bed, forgotten.  Staring intensely at it for a moment, Talia made a hasty decision and haphazardly stuffed it into the bottom of the duffel to deal with at a later date.

            Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she walked back out to the kitchen to find Dean sitting down at the counter, scarfing down some eggs and bacon he had made.  He looked up upon her entrance and mumbled through a mouthful of food:

            “Good, you’re ready” He finished the food that was left on his plate and then stood up placing the dish in the sink and then grabbing the bag from your shoulder. “I made you a breakfast sandwich while I was at it. I figured you hadn’t eaten yet and that you could eat it on the road.”

            He gestured towards a delicious looking bagel sandwich lying nearby and Talia nearly drooled with delight at the sight of her favorite breakfast food. She grabbed the food, along with a couple of napkins, knowing better than to risk spilling any food on Dean’s precious baby, and followed Dean towards the door.  As Dean went to throw her bag in the trunk of the Impala, she stood in the doorway of her home, looking around and checking that all the lights were off. Once she was sure that everything was in order, Talia closed and locked the door behind her. As the door slammed close she was struck with a sudden haunting sense of finality, but she shrugged it off with a shake of her head and she strode towards the Impala with Dean waiting inside.


	3. Chapter 3

            The sound of the Impala’s engine roaring as they raced down the highway was like music to Talia’s ears as she laid a loving hand upon the car’s dash with a sigh, she was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It had been quite some time since she had sat in the familiar leather seats. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, breathing in the familiar scents that lingered in the car. There was just something about the familiarity and comfort of the car that gave her an overwhelming sense of peace.

            “Man, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you missed Baby more than you missed me!” Dean’s voice broke Talia out of her moment and she sat up and looked over at him.

            “You caught me! I only came with you for the car. You’re more of an unfortunate side effect that I had to accept.”

            “I’m hurt! I thought we were friends and now you’re saying you like my car more than you like me!” Dean spoke with mock hurt in his voice as he flung his hand onto his chest with dramatic flair.

            “I think even _you_ like your car more, so don’t blame me.” Talia laughed in reply to his antics. Dean was silent and she glanced over to see him sporting a contemplative look as if considering the validity of her statement. After a moment, he slowly nodded in agreement and acknowledged:

            “You know what, you’re probably right.”

            “Of course I’m right, I’m always right!” Talia adopted an arrogant tilt of her head and sniffed haughtily as Dean chuckled at her.  They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that; both of them content to sit back and enjoy the moment. Sitting there quietly, Talia was reminded of how easy it was to just hang out with Dean and how well they had always gotten along together, whether it was talking, joking, or simply saying nothing at all, things were never awkward between them.

            The scintillating scent of cooked bacon wafted up to Talia’s nose and she remembered the breakfast sandwich that Dean had made for her. She picked it up, taking a moment to admire it before she took a bite, and let out a small moan of delight.

            “Oh my god Dean, this is amazing! I forgot how great of a cook you are.” At her statement, he glanced over at her and she saw the corner of his mouth lift up in a smirk.  It was really silly of her to forget how often the three of them, Sam, Dean and herself, had been left alone by John in some stingy motel and forced to fend for themselves. Upon every such occasion, Dean would always manage to throw together food for Sam and her, and over the years his cooking skills had continued to improve.

            “Thanks, I like to think I’m a man of many talents” She rolled her eyes at this but chose to ignore his comment and focus back in on the delectable food in front of her.

            Upon finishing her breakfast, she leaned back and once more rested her head against the leather seat. With the sun shining on her face and a full stomach, she closed her eyes and realized how exhausted she was since she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.  With Dean’s reassuring presence next to her and the comforting sound of the Impala’s engine in hear ears, Talia quickly fell asleep and the miles rolled by beneath her.

\----------------------------------------

            A slight nudging of her shoulder startled Talia awake and she jolted up from where her head had been lying against the window.  She looked up to see that night had fallen and the Impala was parked on the side of an unfamiliar street.

            “Did I sleep the whole way over?” Dean nodded in affirmation and commented:

            “Yeah, you were out like a light the whole way; you must have really been tired”

            Talia was surprised she had managed to sleep soundly for such a long period of time; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept undisturbed by the nightmares that usually plagued her. She had started to alter her sleep schedule to include daily naps during the afternoons as it was the only way she got enough energy to function normally. None the less, the lack of sleep had begun to drain on her even harder recently, and it showed in the dark colored bags that had developed under her eyes.

            Shrugging off the negative train of thoughts, Talia scanned around once more and noted that they must have arrived at Stanford, although they seemed to be parked outside some sort of apartment complex.  Noting the hour of night, she wondered how exactly Dean planned on talking to Sam and asked him as much.

            “So, what exactly is the plan here Dean?”

            In reply to that statement, he merely smirked at her before opening his door and sliding out of the car.  Knowing that look meant nothing but trouble, Talia let out a sigh and exited the car as well. She followed Dean as he led the way down the street towards Sam’s apartment building. Once they got to the door of Sam’s apartment, she figured they’d knock and hope Sam was either awake or would wake up at the sound. However, she had forgotten who she was traveling with and instead, she watched as Dean turned away from the door and headed towards the nearby window.

            “Dean, what the hell are you doing!?! Why are we not using the front door like normal people do?” Talia questioned incredulously.

            “I want to see if he’s still got it.” Dean whispered back over his shoulder as he worked on prying open the window which was, surprisingly, not locked. Talia huffed but crept closer to Dean while scanning around nervously in case there were any spectators to their breaking and entering.  With a small exclamation of success, Dean shimmied the window open noiselessly and gestured for her to crawl through once there was a large enough gap.

            “Ladies first” Talia rolled her eyes but clambered through anyways and tried to be as silent as possible as she landed on the inside of the apartment.  The inside was completely dark and she heard no noise which she assumed meant Sam was asleep somewhere.  A light grunting came from behind her as Dean followed her through the window and stood up behind her. He strode through a nearby doorway but then promptly slammed into the corner of a wooden table and knocked something over causing a loud noise to echo through the apartment.

            “Ow! Dammit!” Talia giggled, amused at Dean’s stumble and couldn’t help but comment in a quiet whisper;

            “Wow, you make a terrible thief, I should have picked a better partner in crime.” She couldn’t quite make out his face in the dark but she was certain that he’d sent a scowl in her direction. Ignoring her comment, Dean continued forward down the hallway and she trailed behind him trying to make out any details of the apartment that she could in the dark. She had never seen the place and was curious about where Sam had been living the past couple of years.

            As Dean passed through a doorway in front of her, she saw a dark figure spring up behind him and attack him. Taking a wild guess that the dark figure was Sam, Talia merely stepped through the door and leaned against the wall to stay out of the way and wait for Dean to finish seeing ‘if he still got it’ as he had put it earlier. The scuffle lasted a mere moments and ended up with Dean pinning Sam to the floor.

            “Woah! Easy tiger,” Dean let out as he held Sam to the ground. Recognition flashed in Sam’s eyes as the moonlight filtering in through the windows finally shined bright enough on Dean’s face for Sam to see who it was.

            “Dean?” Sam exhaled out, panting from the exertion of the fight, and Dean’s only response was to let out a chuckle. “You scared the crap outta me.”

            “That’s cause you’re out of practice.” In response to that, Sam surged upwards and flipped Dean over, pinning him to the ground instead.

            “Or not,” Dean stated with a smile on his face “get off me”

            “What the hell are you doing here?” The two of them stood up and Talia took this moment to step forward.

            “Hey Sam” At the sound of her voice, Sam turned around in shock and stared at her.

            “Talia? You’re here too?” Turning back to Dean he questioned, “Why is she here too? What are the two of you doing here?”

            “We got to talk”

            “Neither of you could have just picked up the phone and called?”

            “Talia didn’t know about this until today and if I had called would you have picked up?”  At this moment, the light flicked on and they all turned to face the girl who had turned it on. She looked to be around Sam’s age and was rather attractive with long blonde hair. She was wearing pajama shorts and a cropped Smurfs shirt which of course Dean immediately noticed.

            “Sam?” She questioned as she took in the scene before her and the two strangers that were in the apartment.

            “Jess, hey.” Sam greeted her, “Dean, Talia, this is my girlfriend, Jessica”

            “Wait. Dean and Talia as in your brother and family friend?” Jess responded and Talia was surprised to know that Sam had talked about her enough for his girlfriend to recognize her by name.  She was also astonished to learn that Sam had a girlfriend at all and was a little hurt that this was the first time she had heard of it.

            While she and Sam hadn’t ever managed to visit each other over the last few years, they had tried to stay in touch through regular phone calls to each other. In this way, they had managed to stay somewhat in tune with each other’s lives but they had recently lapsed in the practice and she realized it must have been longer than she thought since they had last talked. The thought saddened her as, besides Dean, Sam was the only family she had left and she didn’t want to think that she wasn’t a big enough part of his life to know if he had a girlfriend or not, or that he didn’t think it worth it to tell her about it.

            Shaking the depressing feelings aside, she focused back in on the situation in front of her to hear Dean, who of course had been hitting on Jess, tell her:

            “Anyway, I got to borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business, but nice meeting you.”

            “No. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of Jess.” Sam walked to stand next to Jess with his arm around her as he said this and Talia scoffed at his remark.  Knowing Sam, and his desire to be normal, which was what had driven him to leave the hunting life, she doubted he had told his girlfriend about the family business and that he would soon regret his words when he learned the reason for their visit.

            “Okay. Dad hasn’t been home in a few days.” At Dean’s statement, Sam’s relaxed expression didn’t change and he merely threw out:

            “So? He’s working overtime on a ‘Miller Time’ shift. He’ll stumble back in sooner or later.”  Dean seemed just as exasperated as Talia felt at this point, as if they would come all this way if that were the case, and she saw it on his face as he clarified:

            “Dad’s on a _hunting_ trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days” At this, a light bulb went off in Sam’s head and his facial expression morphed into one of understanding.

            “Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside.”

            Talia followed the two brothers as they exited the apartment, feeling a bit like the third wheel as the two argued back and forth. She wasn’t really sure what she could do to help Dean convince Sam to come along and she wasn’t really sure why Sam wasn’t taking Dean seriously when he said that John was missing.  She didn’t know much about what was going on but she knew one thing, she trusted Dean with her life, and if he said that John was missing and in danger, she trusted that he was right and that he wasn’t overreacting.

            She turned her attention back to the conversation between the brothers as Dean asked, “Sam, are you gonna come with us or not? Talia has already agreed to come with me.”

            “I’m not.” At Sam’s refusal, Talia decided to finally butt in and she stepped forward to question him and his refusal to believe that the situation was serious.

            “Why not?” She looked at Sam as she asked this and he said to her:

            “I swore I was done hunting. And that’s another thing, why are you here? I thought you had given up hunting as well and now all of a sudden you’re here with Dean ready to throw yourself back into it all?”

            “Dean says John’s in danger and if he thinks so then I believe him.” She shrugged, “I don’t know what else you expect me to say Sammy, John was like a second father to me and I owe it to him to help find him.”

            “Besides, our life wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that bad,” Dean butted in.

            “Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a 45.”

            “What was he supposed to do?” said Talia.

            “I was 9 years old. He was supposed to say: ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’”

            Dean scoffed, “‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’, Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid. You know what’s out there.”

            “Yeah, I know, but still, the way we grew up after Mom was killed and Dad’s obsession to find the thing that killed her. But we still haven’t found the damn thing.”

            “So we kill everything we can find.” Dean refuted, “Save a lot of people doing it, too.”

            “You think mom would have wanted this for us? You think Talia’s parents would have wanted this for her? Especially after how hard her dad tried to keep her out of all of this? Man, we were raised like warriors.”

            At the mention of her parents, Talia sucked in her breath as the familiar aching sense of loss that always came with the thought of them hit her.  Both boys glanced in her direction at the noise, Dean’s gaze full of sympathy and Sam’s one of apology for bringing up what they all knew was a sensitive topic for her.  She had rarely admitted it but they both knew that she often felt overwhelmingly guilty for getting into the hunter’s lifestyle after her father had tried so hard to avoid it and raise her as normal as he could after the death of his wife and her mother.

            Turning back to Sam, Dean inquired:

            “So, what are you gonna do? Are you just gonna live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?”

            “No, not normal. Safe.” Dean scoffed at this statement and gave a look of disbelief.

            “And that’s why you ran away.”

            “I was just going to college. It was dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone. And that’s what I’m doing.”

            Talia almost visibly winced at the memory of the night that Sam had left to go to college, a night that had been wrought with arguments and had left her in tears as she watched Sam storm out the door. It was, she thought, a painful memory for all of them, one she sometimes wished she could forget, and she knew it was a sensitive topic for the Winchester boys.

            “Dad’s in real trouble right now,” Dean argued, “if he’s not dead already. I can feel it.” He took a long pause before adding, “I can’t do this alone.”

            “Yes, you can”

            “Well, I don’t want to” At Dean’s somewhat reluctant admission, Talia figured that Sam finally figured out what she had realized as soon as Dean had asked her to come with him. That whether or not Dean would admit it, and he’d rather die than do so, he was scared and didn’t want to go this alone.

            With a sigh, Sam looked down for a moment in thought, before he met Dean’s gaze asking:

            “What was he hunting?” It wasn’t an outright agreement by any means but it wasn’t a solid denial either and Talia figured that was a good sign.

            Dean popped the trunk of the Impala open and then opened up the hidden bottom compartment to reveal the inventory of weapons and hunting supplies.  Although calling the haphazard pile of guns, knives and god knows what else that Dean had stashed away, an inventory was putting it nicely.  She wondered when was the last time he’d gone through and sorted it all out and knew John would have been horrified at this disorganization.  Hell, even her fingers itched with the desire to sort out the mess but she managed to restrain herself as she watched Dean rummaging around.

            “Where the hell did I put that thing?”

            “Maybe it would be easier to find if you cleaned this out more than once every, I don’t know…century?” Talia teased him as she peered over his shoulder and watched him hunting around.  He shot her a look but chose to say nothing and instead started filling Sam in on the last hunt that John had been on once he found the papers he was looking for. It was information he had already told Talia on the way over and so she simply leaned against the Impala tuning it out and only listening back in when Dean played the voicemail he’d gotten from John.

            The ominous warning that John gave was intriguing enough, but what was the most fascinating was the hidden message of a soft, female voice uttering a single creepy declaration. “I can never go home.” Even having heard it before, the message still sent a cold chill down Talia’s spine.

            After a moment had passed and Dean let Sam have a moment to process what he’d just heard, he pleaded one more time:

            “You know, in almost two years, I’ve never bothered you, never asked you for a thing.”

            “Alright, I’ll go.”

            Talia felt a jolt of excitement when Sam agreed to come with them but then immediately felt a little guilty about it, especially when Sam informed them about the interview for law school he had on Monday. How could she feel so happy to drag Sam back into hunting when he had clearly staked out his own normal life here, with a girlfriend and everything. Yet, despite what she knew logically, she couldn’t help how pleased she felt that the three of them would be together again just like old times.

            She also realized that, by Sam making Dean promise to have him back by Monday, it also meant that she also would be returning by Monday as well and would have plenty of time to deal with the implications of the packet, that was still laying hidden in the bottom of her duffle. It also meant that she would probably have to tell Dean what was inside that packet by Monday, and she wasn’t quite sure she was prepared for that. As Dean continued to question Sam about law school, she shifted nervously from foot to foot and wished Sam would hurry up and go pack his things.

            Thankfully, Sam soon left to return inside to his apartment and pack a bag for the road. She was left leaning against the Impala next to Dean whose eyes held several conflicting emotions which she assumed was thanks to Sam’s statement about his interview for law school but she also saw the small smile that played on his lips. She wasn’t even sure he was aware of it but she knew, that like her, he was excited to have the gang back together again.


	4. Chapter 4

            Talia was still pouting in the back seat as they pulled up at some dingy, hole-in-the-wall gas station along the side of the road to refuel.  As soon as Sam had come out of his apartment in Stanford, Dean had slid into the Impala and started the engine but as Talia went to get into the front seat next to him, where she had ridden the whole way there, she was pushed out of the way by an obnoxious Sam who declared:

            “No, no way. If I agreed to come on this crazy adventure with the two of you, you are going to have to sit in the back.”

            “What!?! That’s so not fair!” Talia shouted indignantly, “Why do I always have to sit in the back! I never get to sit in the front!” Talia realized she was beginning to whine like a petulant child but she honestly didn’t care.

            “Well first off, you’re the youngest so you have to listen to what we tell you. And second of all, you’re the shortest so you don’t need the leg room.” Sam explained.

            Dean also butted in with a quick, “He’s not wrong, you are pretty small, and young”

            “I am five foot eight, that’s not short.  Besides, you two towering Neanderthals would make anyone feel small. This is discrimination!”

            “Oh don’t act like this is news to you, Talia. When have you ever gotten to rid shotgun? Now just get in the car so we can go; it’s already late enough.” Dean commanded as leaned over from the driver’s side.

            And so the argument had ended with her in the backseat, scowling at the back of their heads.  She had figured she would be back to her usual spot in the back once they had picked up Sam but a girl could always hope. As they arrived at the aforementioned gas station she went to exit the car but then paused, and in a moment of inspiration inquired:

            “Oh, old and tall ones, am I permitted to exit the vehicle or should I allow you to exit first so you have enough room to get out?” She struggled to keep a straight face as she teased them and Dean burst out laughing at her statement which didn’t help her keep her composure.

            “Damn! She got you good there Sammy.” At Dean’s statement, Sam merely grunted and exited the car to stretch out his legs. Dean soon followed him and after starting the gas pump, went inside to grab some food. Talia merely stretched out along the backseat waiting for their pit stop to be over so they could get back on the road.

            After a moment of walking around, Sam sat back inside the front seat, leaving the door open and began curiously rummaging through the box of old cassette tapes that Dean had left lying on the floor. He made a disappointed clucking sound as he rummaged through them and turned back to Talia to ask:

            “He still hasn’t changed his music tapes since I left?” He had an incredulous look on his face which made her smile as she shook her head and answered:

            “Nope,” she shrugged, “I tried to get him to broaden his musical horizons after you left but he vehemently refused to let me play anything else. After I started living in the house, I didn’t see him as often and I just had to give up and accept him and his narrow-minded taste in music.”

            Talia smirked as she remembered the many attempts she’d made, some more dubious than others, to play different music in the Impala. Although she too was a fan of the older rock and roll music that Dean favored, she also enjoyed other genres as well and she and Sam had often teamed up to insert some variety into Dean’s tastes. However, as was evident by the box that Sam continued to look through, they had never been successful in their endeavor.

            At this moment, Dean walked out of the store and headed towards them carrying food in his arms and he looked at Sam and questioned:

            “You want breakfast?” At Sam’s negative response, he then turned to Talia and as she opened her mouth he cut her off, “and before you say anything, don’t worry, I know what you want and I got you your morning supply of sugar” He then tossed a packed of powdered donuts along with a bottle of water at her through the open window of the car which she caught with a quick thank you as she straightened up from her prostrate position in the backseat. 

            “How did you pay for that stuff anyway? You and dad still running credit-card scams?” Sam questioned as Dean finished fueling up the car.

            “Yeah, well, hunting ain’t exactly a pro-ball career. Besides, all we do is apply, it’s not our fault they send us the cards.”

            Talia chimed in from the back, “What names did you put on the applications this time?” Sam laughed at her question as he faced forward once more and closed the car door, knowing that there was a history of strange and amusing names that Dean and John had chosen for their scams. 

            “Uh,” Dean slid into the driver’s seat as he thought, “Bert Aframian and his son, Hector.” At this, Talia couldn’t restrain a giggle at the ridiculousness and Sam joined her mirth with small chuckle as he admitted:

            “Sounds about right.” Then he focused back in on the box that was still lying on his lap in informed Dean, “I swear man, you got to update your cassette-tape collection.”

            Dean met Sam’s stare and replied indignantly, “Why?”

            “Well, for one: They’re cassette tapes.” Sam stated with exasperation, then he began pulling tapes out one by one and listing them off as he read the hand written labels. “And two: Black Sabbath…Motorhead… Metallica? It’s the greatest hits of mullet rock.”

            Dean snatched a cassette tape from Sam’s hands and as he pushed it into the tape player declared to Sam “House rules Sammy, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.” He then turned the key in the ignition and the Impala roared to life and ACDC’s Back in Black began blasting through the car speakers.

            “You know Dean; Sammy is a chubby 12-year-old. It’s Sam.”

            Talia had been previously sitting quietly in the back seat, watching the brothers bicker back and forth knowing it was a futile argument and preferring to stay out of it. However, at Sam’s statement, she leaned forward and stuck her hand on Sam’s head, ruffling his hair back and forth patronizingly.

            “You’ll always be the little chubby kid to us, no matter how freakishly tall you get!” Sam groaned and smacked her hand away as he turned to face Dean, his expression demanding an answer.

            “Sorry, I can’t hear you. The music’s too loud.” Dean grinned and then grabbed the steering wheel as he drove them out of the gas station and got back onto the highway while the music continued to play loudly in the background.

 ------------------------------------------

            They were just passing into the city limits of Jericho when Sam finished his phone call by shutting his phone with a snap as he informed Talia and Dean: “So there’s no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that’s something, I guess.”

            While the news gave Talia a sense of relief, she was also left further confused.  If John had been working a case in this town, then where the hell was he? Although the results of Sam’s inquiries would seem to indicate that he was neither injured nor dead, her mind conjured up various scenarios that would result in him alone and injured, not able to reach help in time.

            She was interrupted from her morbid thoughts as they pulled up to a bridge that was swarming with cop cars. Dean parked the car off to the side of the road and after a quick assessment of the situation, he reached over to the glove box and pulled out a small metal container. Peeking over his shoulder, Talia saw that the box was filled with the various fake ids that Dean had amassed for impersonating various officers and agents.

            Dean grabbed one of the ids that had Federal Marshal printed across it and looked at the two of them with a smile on his face and said, “Let’s go!”

            Sam had a look of disbelief on his face and let out a sigh before also stepping out of the car but Talia quickly got out of the car without comment.  Talia couldn’t believe that Dean hadn’t ordered her to wait in the car, she had never been allowed or able to be a part of the interactions with cops as she had always been to young for her impersonation to be believable. She wasn’t sure if it had just slipped her mind or if Dean had finally accepted that she was old enough to play the part but whatever it was, she wasn’t going to question it.

            The three of them approached a rusted metal bridge that spanned across a rushing river and as they got closer, they overheard two cops talking about the victim of the whatever had happened, a kid named Troy. Apparently he had been dating one of the officer’s daughters, who was pinning up missing posters in an attempt to help find him. Talia took this information in as she, Sam and Dean surveyed the scene until Dean commented:

            “You fellas had another one just like this, last month, didn’t you?” The cop looked up from where he had been leaning against an open car door and, glancing at the three of them, he observed:

            “And who are you?”  At his inquiry, Dean reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the fake id, flashing it in front of the cop with a dismissive manner as he identified them as Federal Marshals.

            “You three are a little young for marshals, aren’t you? Especially that one.” With his last sentence, the cop pointed a finger at Talia who tried her hardest to assume an innocent look while she fought to restrain herself from nervously running her hands together.  She also made a point to stay a step behind Sam and Dean and did her best to draw as little attention to herself as possible as she did not want to screw this up.

            “Thanks, that’s awfully kind of you.” Dean laughed, brushing the suspicious inquiry off and walked closer to the wrecked vehicle that the cops had been investigating. “You did have another one just like this, correct?

            “Yeah, that’s right, about a mile up the road. There have been others before that.”

            Sam was the next person to speak as he asked, “So, this victim, you knew him?”

            “A town like this, everybody knows everybody.”

            “Any connection between the victims besides that they’re all men?” Dean interrogated as he continued to circle the car with his hands folded behind his back. Talia didn’t know how he and Sam could so casually adopt such professional airs and play the parts so well although she figured they probably had a lot of practice.  She decided that she was going to simply keep her mouth shut and let them handle it as they certainly had it covered and would most likely not welcome her unnecessary interference. She did however, stroll towards Dean to get a closer look at the car as she let the boys do their thing.

            She was focused in on the disturbing lack of damage or signs of foul play on the car when she heard Dean throw out a snarky line.

            “Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I’d expect out of you guys.” At this remark, Talia swiftly stomped on Dean’s foot, angered at his completely unnecessary insult. He exhaled sharply and his smile dropped off his face while Sam glanced at the two of them confusedly.

            The officer stared at them with a mixture of annoyance and bewilderment while Sam took that moment to exit the scene and he led the three of them back towards the Impala. As they walked back, Talia felt Dean smack her lightly on the arm.

            “Ow! What was that for?!” She questioned as she rubbed her arm.

            “Why did you stomp on my foot?”

            “You were being an asshole, Dean. There was no need to be so rude to the police.”

            “She’s kind of right, Dean.  Was that comment really necessary?”

            “Oh, come on.” Dean stepped in front of Talia and Sam, facing them and forcing the two of them to halt in their tracks. “They don’t really know what’s going on. We’re all alone on this. If we’re gonna find Dad, we’ve got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves.”

            Before Talia and Sam had a chance to reply the appearance of another cop and two actual agents, by the looks of their suits, caused the three of them to hightail it out of there before they got caught.

 --------------------------------------

            They were walking down the sidewalk in downtown when Talia spotted a girl posting up posters against a building a little bit ahead of them.  Feeling emboldened and determined to not remain silent this time, Talia sped up and approached the girl to initiate a conversation and see what she might know.

            “Hi, you must be Amy.” The girl nodded in affirmation as she continued to press the poster she was placing against the wall. “Troy told us about you. We’re his aunt and uncles. I’m Talia and this is Dean and Sam.” Talia gestured to the two boys who had followed her and now stood at her back.

            “He never mentioned you to me.” Talia froze for a moment in fear, thinking she had already screwed this up, but when the girl turned away casually, pulling out another poster to hang up, she shook herself and started after her. Letting out a quick laugh that sounded way too nervous to her own ears, Talia tried again saying: “Well, that’s Troy I guess. We’re…uh...not around much. We’re up in…Modesto.”

            At this point, Sam thankfully stepped in and saved Talia from her floundering attempts at a smooth conversation by interjecting: “So, we’re looking for him too, and we’re kind of asking around.”

            Another girl approached their group and came up to Amy, placing a comforting hand on her arm saying, “Hey, are you okay?”

            “Yeah” Amy’s tone seemed to contradict her answer and Talia felt bad for the girl and all she must be going through. Deciding to take the initiative once more, Talia piped up:

            “Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions? Maybe there is somewhere we could sit down and chat?” Amy nodded and she and her friend led them off to a nearby café.  They sat in a booth next to the window with Amy and her friend sitting on one side and Talia sat crammed in between Sam and Dean, the latter of which strung his arm casually against the backrest of the booth. After they had all gotten drinks, and a little bit of gentle prodding, Amy began telling her story.

            “I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said we would call me right back, and he never did.”

            Sam leaned forward, resting both of his elbows on the table which left even less room for Talia who was uncomfortable squished in the middle. “He didn’t say anything strange? Or out of the ordinary?”

            “No, nothing I can remember.” They lapsed into a momentary silence until Sam once again spoke up:

            “I like your necklace.” Talia then noticed the silver pentagram hanging on a brown string that Amy was wearing. Amy looked down at hit and fingered it as she informed them:

            “Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents” She laughed quietly at this, “with all that devil stuff.”

            Talia couldn’t help but correct her as she elbowed Sam in a silent command to move over and give her more room. “Actually, it means just the opposite.  A pentagram is a protection against evil.  Really powerful, I mean,” she let out a nervous laugh, “if you believe in that kind of thing.”

            Dean, who had apparently grown impatient at the pace of the conversation, leaned forward as well to roll his eyes at Talia. “Okay, thank you Unsolved Mysteries.” Then he got straight to the point. “Here’s the deal ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something’s not right. So if you’ve heard anything…” He trailed off and the two girls exchanged glances.

            “What is it?” Talia asked. Amy’s friend finally spoke up and explained:

            “Well, it’s just…I mean,” she looked down at the table shyly, “with all these guys going missing, people talk.”

            “What do they talk about?” Sam and Dean questioned simultaneously. Talia started and glanced between the two brothers. Well that was freaky, she thought to herself.

            “It’s kind of this local legend.” The friend continued. “This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago.” At this, Talia exchanged a meaningful stare with Dean, this sounded like it was what they were looking for. “Well supposedly, she’s still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up…well, they disappear forever.”

            Soon after this, the three of them said their goodbyes and then they headed towards the town library to do some research.  Once inside, Dean sat down at a computer and began searching for information in past newspaper articles online but none of the phrases he was searching were getting any results. Talia then observed Dean and Sam fighting over the computer which ended up with Sam shoving Dean out of the way and taking over the keyboard. She rolled her eyes at their childish antics but was glad to see the two brothers bickering and getting along as well as brothers were expected to.

            “So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?” Talia nodded in response to Sam’s question, seeing where he was going with this line of thinking.  “Maybe it’s not murder.” He then refined their search to look for female suicides on the Centennial Highway and got a result.  Apparently, in 1981, a young woman named Constance Welch jumped off the Sylvania Bridge and drowned in the river shortly after her two little kids had drowned in the bathtub at her home.  The article also included a quote from her husband, Joseph Welch, where he said that Constance just couldn’t handle the death of their two children.

            Sam continued to scroll down the article until a picture of the bridge where Constance had committed suicide appeared and Talia immediately recognized it. It was the same bridge where they had been earlier that day; the same place where Troy had gone missing.

\------------------------------------      

            It was dark out by the time they made it back out to the bridge and, as far outside of town as they were, the only sound that could be heard was the rushing of the river below them and the crickets from the nearby forest.  The three of them leaned against the railing that ran along the sides of the bridge, peering down at the water below them in silence until Dean wondered aloud:

            “So this is where Constance took the swan dive.” Talia shivered a little, despite the rather warm evening, at the thought and then asked Dean:

            “So you think your dad would have been here?”

            “Well, he’s chasing the same story and we’re chasing him.” As he said this, Dean pushed away from the railing and continued walking down the bridge as Sam and Talia trailed behind him.

            “Okay, so now what?” Talia questioned as their inspection of the bridge had not been very enlightening so far.

            “Now, we keep digging till we find him. It might take awhile.” Sam let out an exasperated sigh at Dean’s response and stopped walking while Talia internally winced at the inevitable argument that was sure to arise. She had been waiting for the moment that Dean’s refusal to acknowledge the fact that Sam had to get back by Monday was going to come up again.  She knew that both boys were quite stubborn and arguments between them tended to escalate quickly so she prepared herself to be the moderator.

            “Dean, I told you I’ve got to get back by-” Sam stated cautiously.

            “Monday.” Dean interrupted. “Right, the interview. I forgot”

            “Yeah, and I’m sure Talia needs to get back soon as well.”

            “Woah,” Talia held both of her hands up and looked at Sam in shock. “Don’t drag me into the middle of this. This is between you and Dean.”

            At her statement, Sam turned to look at her in disbelief. “Really Talia, you have nothing going on right now, no plans that got interrupted? You’re just completely free go off on and adventure with Dean? You must have had some sort of life that you want to get back to.”

            Internally Talia winced as her mind went back to the packet lying in her duffel, but she had made her decision the moment Dean had asked her to accompany him, not that she ever planned on telling either of them what exactly she had done, for a variety of reasons.  With this in mind, she made sure to school her expression as she replied, “No Sam, I don’t have anything to go back to.”

            This was mostly true as she had never really made much of a life for herself in the town where John had stuck her in after he decided she was done hunting. The first couple months she had been too busy wallowing in self-pity and loneliness as she was forced to live by herself for the first time ever.  Sure, she had finally made a couple of friends at the local high school she’d attended but she had always been a bit of a loner which was not helped by the innate paranoia and wariness of strangers that hunting had left her with.  Even so, the few friends she did make had all left for college after graduation and she had spent the last year or so working at the local veterinary clinic and spending her nights alone in an empty house.

            If she was being honest with herself, she had slipped into a state of depression in that last year, which was not helped by the constant nightmares that haunted her, and had been stuck in strange sort of limbo with no idea what her future held. Thinking about this all, she was struck with the realization that, despite John’s refusal to let her keep hunting, she’d never really been able to detach herself from that lifestyle, not in the way the Sam obviously could. She felt a stab of jealousy as she concluded to herself that, “I never had a life outside of hunting. There is nothing to return to.”

            It wasn’t until Sam shot her an aghast look that she realized she’d said the last part aloud but thankfully, Dean hadn’t seemed to hear her depressing revelation as he turned to Sam and said:

            “See, Talia is fine, but you, you’re really serious about this aren’t you? You think you’re just gonna become some lawyer, marry your girl?”

            “Maybe. Why not?

            “Does Jessica know the truth about you?” Dean inquired skeptically. “Does she know about the things you’ve done?”

            “No, and she’s not ever going to know.”  Talia scoffed at this answer and couldn’t help but agree with Dean who responded with:

            “Well that’s healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later you’re gonna have to face up to who you really are.”

            “Who is that?” At this question Dean, who had turned away from Sam and continued to walk down the bridge, slung is arm around Talia’s shoulders and said:

            “One of us.” The corner of her mouth raised in a half smile as she looked at Dean and realized that he was right to include her in that statement. It was one of the main differences between her and Sam’s time out of the hunting lifestyle; Sam had found a way to move on and separate himself as much as he could but the more Talia learned about his time in college, the more she was doubting that she could have ever done the same.

            Sam sped up to step in front of Dean and force him to stop walking and Dean slowly lowered his arm as he faced his younger brother.

            “No! I’m not like you.” Sam insisted. “This is not going to be my life.”

            “Well, you have a responsibility.”

            “To dad? And his crusade?” Talia, who was still standing next to Dean, became apprehensive as the conversation spiraled into more dangerous territory. “If it weren’t for pictures, I wouldn’t even know what mom looks like. And what difference would it make?”

            Talia watched on nervously and as Sam continued to speak she noticed Dean’s shoulders begin to tense up in anger.  She then faced Sam trying to implore him wordlessly, with wide eyes, to shut up before things got worse. However, he either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it as he continued:

            “Even if we do find the thing that killed her, mom’s gone, and she isn’t coming back.” In a motion so quick it startled Talia back a step, Dean lunged forward and grabbed Sam by the front of his shirt, shoving him against a nearby beam and holding him there, anger now apparent on his face.

            “Dean!” She shouted as she ran up to him put her hand on his arm trying to pull him away from Sam. “Dean, stop!” Talia continued to tug uselessly on Dean’s arm as he and Sam just stared at each other silently for what seemed like an eternity before Dean commanded simply:

            “Don’t talk about her like that.” Dean then released Sam with a jerk of his arms and turned away for a moment. It was then that Talia noticed something further down the bridge. As she focused on it, she saw that it was a woman wearing a white dress who was perched on the railing of the bridge looking out over the water and she pointed it out:

            “Guys!” Sam and Dean both turned around as Talia pointed over to the woman and they all watched her slowly look over at them before taking a step off the bridge and plummeting below. The three of them instantly sprinted over to where the girl had been standing but as they frantically searched the water for a sign of her, there was nothing there.

            “Where’d she go?” Dean wondered.

            “I don’t know.” Sam replied. Suddenly the sound of an engine starting burst through the silence of the evening and bright lights flooded the bridge illuminating the night as they all turned towards where the Impala had been parked.

            “What the-” Dean stared at the car confusedly as Talia anxiously inquired:

            “Dean, um, who’s driving your car?” His only response was to reach into his jacket pocket and hold up the car keys, jingling them. With a roar, the car surged forwards and accelerated towards them swiftly and Talia froze in fear.

            “Let’s go! Talia, come on!” Sam yelled as he tugged on her arm, breaking her out of her fear and she began sprinting back down the bridge behind the boys who were a little bit ahead of her, being much faster than she was. She quickly realized there was no way they were going to outrun the car and she was already huffing air as she ran. She made a mental note that she was extremely out of shape and that should be something she should fix for future situations where she was being chased by a driverless car.  Thankfully, she noticed the brothers ahead of her were veering towards the side railing and she followed them in leaping over the railing and towards safety, hopefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Luckily, as Talia vaulted over the side, she managed to grab onto a pipe that ran along the side of the bridge just below it and stopped herself from falling all the way into the river although she did let out a grunt at the impact.  For a moment, she merely laid there catching her breath and coming down from the adrenaline high and then she heard Sam speak up from nearby.

“Talia, hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Where’s Dean?”

“Dean!” Sam shouted as he scanned their surroundings and the river below them. “Dean!”

“What!” Talia heard Dean yell and then she spotted him crawling onto the shore below them and was filled with relief to know that he was okay, that they were all okay and she shouted down to him:

“Hey, are you all right?”

“I’m super.” Dean replied as he laid down on his back and Talia could vaguely see that he seemed to be covered in muck and she let out a small laugh at the sight. Then, she followed Sam’s example and climbed back up to the bridge and they waited next to where the Impala rested seemingly back to normal.

As Dean approached them and the light of the moon made clear just how covered in god knows what he was, Talia burst out laughing once more.

“Oh shut up!” Dean retorted as he hurried over to the Impala to check the engine and once he had been assured that everything was still okay he slammed the hood closed and sat down on it.

“Well, whatever she did to it, it seems all right now.” Dean confirmed in a relieved tone and then hollered suddenly, “That Constance chick, what a bitch!”

“Well, she doesn’t want us digging around, that’s for sure.” Sam stated before sitting down next to Dean and asking him, “So, where’s the trail go from here, genius?”

Dean’s only response was to throw his hands up in exasperation and the sat for a bit in silence until Talia sniffed her nose a couple of times and observed: “Dean, you smell like a toilet.” He glared at her but simply got up into the car stating that they were going to the nearest motel so he could shower and the drove off heading back into town.

When they got to a motel, Sam and Dean went inside to get a room while Talia decided to just stay outside leaning against the car and grinning at the sight of a muddy Dean trudging into the office of the motel.

The brothers came walking back outside a couple minutes later and walked up to Talia explaining how they’d found out that their dad had been here and checked out a room for a whole month and they were going to go check it out. She eagerly stood up to follow them, this was the first real concrete news they’d had of John and she hoped it would help them figure out what happened to him.

She waited for Sam to finish picking the lock as she stood watch with Dean outside the door leading to the room John had rented although she made sure to stay a couple feet away from Dean who still stank terribly. She felt a sharp tug on her shirt as Sam pulled both her and Dean into the room and she looked around in amazement.

“Woah.” The walls everywhere were covered in pictures, notes, and newspaper articles and there was little space left uncovered.  The room was a mess and There was also a couple of empty food wrappers although one still had a half eaten burger in it which Dean promptly smelled to Talia’s disgust.  
            “I don’t think he’s been here for a couple of days at least.” How Dean could tell that from the smell of old food, Talia didn’t really want to know. She continued to look around the room and only then noticed a line of salt that was laid out along the floor and she quickly pointed it out to the two brothers saying:

“Looks like he was worried, trying to keep something from coming in.” She then followed the boys over to one wall where John had posted information on all of the Centennial Highway victims. Dean stared at the wall and speculated aloud:

“I don’t get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, age, ethnicities. There’s always a connection right? What do these guys have in common?”

“Dad figured it out.”

Talia looked over to see Sam had wandered to the other side of the room and was looking at something else that was hung on the wall. “What do you mean?”

“He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She’s a woman in white.”

“You sly dogs.” Dean commented. “Alright, so if we’re dealing with a woman in white, dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it.”

“She might have another weakness.”

“No, dad would want to make sure. He’d dig her up. Does it say where she’s buried?”

“No, not that I can tell. If I were dad, though, I’d go ask her husband, if he’s still alive.”

Talia then suggested helpfully, “Well, why don’t Sam and I look for an address for the husband while the family sewer rat over here get’s cleaned up before he stinks up the entire room.” She pointedly looked at Dean as she said this and in reply he stepped towards her menacingly with his arms out trying to hug her while Talia screamed and darted across the room to hide behind Sam.

“Seriously Dean, she’s right. You have to go take a shower.”

Dean sighed dramatically but then walked over to the bathroom but right before he opened the door Sam let out a quick, “Hey Dean,” which caused him to stop and turn around, “what I said earlier about mom and dad, I’m sorry-”

Dean held up a hand, stopping Sam from continuing and said, “No chick-flick moments.”

“Alright, jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Talia rolled her eyes at them both and mumbled under her breath, “Men.”

20 minutes later, Talia saw Dean emerge out of the bathroom clean and no longer smelling as if he’d crawled through the sewers and he grabbed a leather jacket as he walked towards the door stating, “Hey, I’m starving. I’m gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You want anything?”

Sam, who was sitting on the bed listening to a voicemail from Jessica declined but Talia hopped up eagerly, “I’ll come with, I could use some food too.”

She followed Dean outside of the room and as they walked further she immediately noticed two cops talking to a man not too far away from them. As she watched the scene, she nudged Dean with her shoulder to draw his attention to it and watched as the man looked over and pointed his finger at them.

“Shit, Dean I think our covers blown.” He grabbed her elbow and turned them both away from the cops as he yanked out his phone to call Sam.

“Dude, five-O. Take off.” He said into the phone and Talia couldn’t here Sam’s reply but Dean simply said, “Uh, they kind of spotted us. Go find Dad.” Then he quickly shut his phone and stuffed it in his pocket and Talia turned around to see that the cops were now directly behind them.

“Is there a problem officers?” Talia felt a little offended as the two cops seemed to ignore her and instead looked at Dean questioning:

“Where’s your other partner?”

“What other partner? What? What are you talking about?” Nice Dean, she thought, real smooth talking. The cop merely gestured to the man behind him to go check out the room she and Dean had just exited. Talia hoped that Sam had managed to get out in time. The cop turned back to Dean and interrogated him:

“So, fake U.S. Marshal, fake credit cards. You got anything that’s real?” All of a sudden, a light seemed to shine in Dean’s eyes and Talia recognized that look with a groan. That look meant nothing but trouble and she was pretty sure she knew where this was going.

“My boobs.” She face-palmed. That was exactly what they didn’t need to say in front of the same cop that Dean had insulted earlier and sure enough, Dean was soon being shoved against a cop car and handcuffed while Talia got a similar, if not gentler, treatment.

As they rode in the back of a squad car together, Talia shoved Dean with her shoulder whispering, “Idiot! You just couldn’t help yourself could you?” Dean said nothing in response but the proud little grin that was still on his face told her wonders. She sighed and tried to readjust her sitting position looking for a way to sit that was at least remotely comfortable. Unfortunately, with her hands handcuffed behind her back, that was a little difficult.

Talia had remained rather calm in the situation until they got to the police station and she was led off towards a different direction than Dean. She was suddenly terrified, she didn’t want to be separated from Dean where she wouldn’t know what to do or say and she began struggling against the cop that was leading her.

“Hey Talia, calm down. It’s gonna be alright, we’re gonna be fine.” Dean’s calming voice seemed to break through her frantic mind and she reminded herself that he would never let anything bad happen to her. So she took a deep breath, calmed her beating heart and let herself be led away peacefully.

She soon found herself sitting in a chair handcuffed, alone in the room and assumed the cops were interrogating Dean, or they were just letting her simmer hoping to make her anxious. However as she had time to relax and consider the situation, she realized that the cops didn’t have that much to go on for her and she trusted that Dean would find away to get them out of here eventually.

What felt like days passed, although it was probably only a couple of hours until a cop trudged into the room with a giant box of stuff in his hands.  He sat down across from her at the table and said:

“Now listen here missy, I’ve already talked to your boyfriend and the way I see it, you’re to young to be a part of all this and I’m sure you just got dragged in over your head. So why don’t you just tell me everything you know and what your boyfriend has been up to.”

Talia had been all prepared to play the innocent and scared little girl but at the officer’s words and their implication she bristled. “First of all, I’m 19 years old so don’t patronize me. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

The cop seemed startled by her tone but continued, “ _Dean_ -” the cop emphasized his name and Talia froze upon hearing it, wondering how in hell they had figured out his real name, “wasn’t very helpful but we got all the evidence we need to put him away. You could be in a lot of trouble too young lady but if you just tell me everything you know; we can let you go. Like I said I don’t think you’re apart of this but if you don’t help me I can’t help you.”

Talia remained resolutely silent and simply stared at the cop with a blank expression. He sighed in exasperation and followed up with, “I’m sure those cuffs aren’t very comfortable, if you just tell me one thing I can take them off for you.”

At her continued silence he leaned forward and said more gently, “Listen honey, maybe you’re scared but I promise I will keep you safe. I know your boyfriend was into some scary stuff,” with this he placed a leather-bound notebook on the table, “but he isn’t going to be able to hurt you. Now can you tell me what these numbers mean.” The cop opened the notebook to a page that simply had Dean’s name, along with the numbers 35-111, circled.

Talia recognized the notebook immediately as John’s hunting journal, something he never went anywhere without.  She probably would have been more concerned about why it wasn’t with John but she was too busy getting even more infuriated at the cop’s refusal to listen to her and the assumptions he kept making and she forgot her previous resolution to play nice.

“Listen here jackass, I already told you he’s not my boyfriend and regardless of that, he would never hurt me. Ever. And I don’t appreciate the fact that you keep assuming I’m the one who got dragged into this. That’s quite sexist of you and for all you know, I could be the one stringing him along for the ride.” She said this with a menacing tone as she stared the cop down and paused a moment to let those words sink in. She then looked down at the numbers and said, “As far as these numbers go, I have no idea what they are, maybe they’re a locker combination. I don’t know. You’re the cop, not me, isn’t it your job, to figure this shit out?”

The cop looked furious at her little speech and she merely smiled sweetly at him as he began to get a little red in the face before he stormed out of the room.  She chuckled to herself as she took a moment to revel in knocking him down a peg although she did realize the hypocrisy of her yelling at Dean earlier for sassing the cops when she had just done the same thing to an even worse degree.

She sat in the chair for awhile longer and her wrists had chafed a little from where she’d struggled against the handcuffs but she had no way to get out of the situation. She’d spied a paperclip in John’s journal but before she’d had a chance to try and grab it, the cop had returned and taken it with him. She had never regretted so much the fact that she never used bobby pins, one of those little suckers could have come real in handy right about now and she vowed that once she got out she would always keep some on her.

The cop came back in her room several times as the time ticked by, trying to get her to talk but she either remained completely silent or replied with ‘I don’t know’ and the cop was getting more frustrated by the hour.  Talia was content to wait patiently for Dean to come rescue her although she was a little frustrated at her own lack of escape routes.  She’d been constantly scanning her surroundings when she was left alone but had unable to find anything helpful and her sassy remarks had meant she’d remained with both hands cuffed to the chair which was not aiding in her attempt to find an escape.

Later in the evening, she finally noticed a commotion occurring through the window in the door and she saw all of the cops running around and leaving. She figured this meant that her departure time was soon and was proven right when minutes later Dean hurried into the room distinctly lacking in both handcuffs and police escort.

He hurried over to where she was sitting and started working on picking her cuffs while he commented dryly, “Although I’m sure you were no doubt having fun, I figured you might want a change of scenery.”

“But I was having so much fun talking with all the policemen.” She whined jokingly.

“By the look on his face after he came from your room, I’m sure you were.”

Talia smirked at this and with a clink, her second handcuff came free and she stood up, stretching a bit as she worked out the kinks that had developed from sitting in one position for so long.  She then followed Dean as he crept towards the door looking through the window to check if the coast was clear.

They managed to sneak past the few remaining officers that were left and made it to the roof of the building without being detected at all. Once on the rooftop, Talia followed Dean as he looked for a way down and they eventually found a ladder that dropped off into a nearby alley. Dean climbed down first and discovered that the ladder ended about eight feet above the ground but he merely lowered himself as far down as he could before he dropped down to the ground.

When Talia reached the same spot, she hesitated a bit at the height but Dean quickly gestured for her to hurry up and stood nearby with his arms out, indicating he’d be there to catch her.  She gently lowered herself as far as she could, looked down once more and then let herself fall. She stumbled a bit upon landing but Dean quickly grabbed her to keep her from falling and once she had steadied herself, they were off once more.

She followed Dean as he led them through town until he found a more isolated payphone which he used to call up Sam. “Fake 911 call, Sammy? That’s pretty illegal.”

Ah, Talia realized, so that was why the cops had all left. That was pretty good thinking on Sam’s part. She continued to listen to Dean explain to Sam how they had found John’s journal and how he had left town already leaving coordinates in his journal, which were the numbers the cop had questioned Talia about earlier. Suddenly, Dean started yelling into the phone,

“Sam? Sam!”

“Dean, what happened?!”

“I don’t know. He hung up but I’m pretty sure he’s in trouble and I think I know where to find him.”

When they finally got to Constance Welch’s old home, Talia saw the Impala parked right outside and she heard Sam crying out in pain as a woman, Constance, sat over him with her hand on his chest. Dean immediately whipped out his pistol and shot several rounds through the driver’s window of the Impala at her and she blinked in and out several times before disappearing.  A moment later however, she popped into existence again and this time, Talia raised her own gun to shoot through the now open window and unloaded a couple of rounds until Constance had disappeared once more.

She watched Sam sit up gasping and distinctly heard him say:

“I’m taking you home.” Before he slammed down the gas pedal and the Impala sped forward straight onto the porch and through the wall of the decrepit, neglected home. Talia quickly dashed forward through the now gaping hole in the side of the house and Dean was right behind her as she shouted franticly:

“Sam! Sam!” She saw him lying in the driver’s seat of the Impala and questioned, “Are you okay?”

“I think.”

At this point, Dean had come up next to her and he leaned through the passenger’s side of the car as he asked, “Can you move?”

“Yeah. Help me.”

Talia let Dean help Sam get out of the car as she stood guard nearby, keeping a lookout for the reappearance for Constance. Suddenly, she noticed the woman standing in front of them, but Constance seemed to be focused on a picture that was lying on the floor amongst the rubble. Constance bent down to pick it up and stared at it while Talia tried to warn Sam and Dean while simultaneously keeping her eyes on the woman in white.

“Uh, guys…guys!” She looked over to see that Dean had finished helping Sam out of the car and just as they stood up the finally noticed Constance at the same time as she looked up at them. An old dresser slid forward pinning the boys against the car at the same time that Talia was flung backwards against the nearby wall and her head slammed against it leaving her a little dazed. She remained slumped against the wall and watched helplessly as Constance took a step towards the two Winchesters.

Before she could approach any closer, the lights in the house began flickering and water began rushing down the staircase. Constance turned and approached the staircase to stare up at something that Talia couldn’t quite see from her position but she heard two children’s voices state in eerie harmony:

“You’ve come home to us, mommy.” The two children then appeared on the first floor behind Constance and when she turned to face them, they wrapped their arms around her and she let out a shrill scream as the three of them melted into the floor. They disappeared into the floor with a startling display of blue fire and the sound of draining water and then they were gone for good.  With their disappearance, Talia managed to get to her feet and walk over to the spot where they had gone, joined by Dean and Sam who had shoved away the dresser that had previously pinned them.  All that was left in the spot was a small puddle of water on the floor.

“So this is where she drowned her kids.” Dean stated.

“That’s why she could never go home.” Sam replied thoughtfully, “She was too scared to face them.”

“You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy.” Dean walked away while slapping Sam on the chest, right over where Constance had been digging her hand in, causing Sam to let out a pained laugh.

“Hey, you okay Sam?” Talia questioned with concern as she noticed the five finger holes that had been ripped in his shirt just over his heart.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Thanks. What about you? You hit that wall pretty hard.”

“I think I’m okay.” Talia replied, rubbing the back of her head, “might have a bit of a bump but I should be fine.”

Sam then turned to Dean who was, of course, inspecting his car for damage. “What were you two thinking by the way, shooting Casper in the face, you freaks?”

“Hey!” Talia smacked Sam on the arm. “saved your ass didn’t we?”

“I’ll tell you one thing Sam.” Dean declared as he continued to look at the Impala. “If you screwed up my car. I’ll kill you.”

At this, both Sam and Talia chuckled and she was sure glad that all of them had gotten out of this alive and okay.

\--------------------------------------- 

They were back on the road again and Talia had once again been relegated to the backseat although she was kind of glad of it in this case as she was looking forward to getting some shut eye while they were on the road. Sam was currently looking up the coordinates from John’s journal on a map while using a flashlight for light when he spoke up:

“Okay, here’s where dad went. It’s called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado.”

Talia leaned forward in between the two boys from the backseat and observed, “Sounds charming. How far?”

“About 600 miles.”

Dean piped in stating, “If we shag ass, we can make it by morning.”

Talia nearly groaned aloud at Dean’s words and couldn’t decide if his forgetfulness was intentional or not although she thought it might be a little of both.

“Dean, um…” Sam drew out reluctantly.

“You’re not going.”

“The interview’s in 10 hours. I got to be there.”

Dean was silent for a moment as he shifted in his seat and looked forward. Before he stated with feigned indifference. “Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I’ll take you home.”

Talia saw right through his façade and could detect the disappointment and sadness in his tone and her heart went out to Dean who just didn’t want to be alone but she also understood Sam’s need to have a normal life. She was deeply conflicted over the topic and let the awkward silence reign over the car as she laid back down to try and get some sleep as they headed back to Stanford.

She woke up with a gasp, sweat pouring down her face as she bolted upright lungs heaving for air. Startled Sam and Dean turned back to look at her with concern and she noticed that the car had stopped and they were parked outside Sam’s apartment. She’d had the most terrible nightmare but now that she was awake she couldn’t remember it for the life of her.

“Talia! Are you okay?” Dean examined her as he said this.

She let out a deep sigh as her breathing returned to normal and pulled at loose strands of hair that were pressed to the sides of her face, slick with sweat. “Yeah, Dean. I’m fine. It was just a bad dream.”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked skeptically. She merely nodded in response and after continuing to look at her for a moment longer, Sam gathered his things and exited the car turning around to say, “You’ll call me if you find him?”

Dean nodded in affirmation and Sam continued with, “Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?”

“Yeah, all right.”

Talia could almost feel the awkward tension in the air and had a feeling that both brothers knew that the likelihood of Sam joining them again was pretty low. Sam was walking away from the car when Dean yelled out once more:

“Sam.” As Sam turned around again he added, “You know, we made a hell of a team back there.”

“Yeah.”

As another awkward pause ensued, Talia took the moment to clamber over into the front passenger seat, nearly smacking Dean several times in the process. He let out a small laugh and then started the engine. Talia waved out the window to Sam as they pulled away and she saw him watching them as they left.

They’d only been on the road for a minute when the nauseous feeling that Talia had in her stomach since she had woken up, worsened, and she had the most unsettling feeling that something was very wrong.

“Dean. Dean, we have to go back.”

“What, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know; I can’t explain it. But I’ve got this really bad feeling and I think we need to go back. Please.”

Talia looked at Dean imploringly and he glanced over at her for a second before pulling a sharp U-turn and speeding back to Stanford. The second the car came to a stop Talia was sprinting towards Sam’s apartment while Dean hurried to catch up with her. The feeling in her gut had gotten worse and she prayed that it was just her own paranoia but as she got to the door and heard Sam scream, she knew she was right.

Dean pushed her out of the way as soon as he got there and kicked down the door without hesitation rushing into the apartment. Talia was right on his heels as she called out:

“Sam!” Running down the hallway, she noticed flames up ahead and Dean had frozen in the doorway leading into Sam’s bedroom. As she peeked over his shoulder she was horrified at the sight in front of her. Sam was lying down on his bed staring aghast at the ceiling where his girlfriend Jessica was pinned, a blood stain spread across her stomach and flames erupting from around her body.

Dean was the first to move as he lunged forward to grab Sam and drag him out of the room while Sam just kept screaming Jess’ name. Talia had enough wits about her to stand out of the doorway so the two of them could get through and stumbled after them until they were all safely outside.

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur to Talia and as Dean stood among the crowd watching the fireman do their job and put out the fire while she stood against the Impala next to Sam who was sorting through the weapon armory in the trunk. She didn’t know what to say to him and she wasn’t sure there was anything she could say that would help and everything she could think of seemed drastically inadequate for the situation.  The thing that hurt her the most was the look in Sam’s eyes the moment the shock of the situation had worn off. His jaw had clenched and his eyes had taken on an empty and broken look that had scared her more than anything else she’d seen that day.

As Dean approached the two of them, Sam finished loading up the gun he had in his hands and tossed it into the trunk as a tear slid down his face. He looked at Talia and Dean with that same empty gaze that concerned her, and in a determined voice, stated:

“We got work to do.”


	6. Chapter 6

Talia sat in the backseat of the Impala, behind Sam and Dean, as they drove on their way to the coordinates that John had left in his journal. The funeral for Sam’s girlfriend, Jessica, had been a few days ago and Talia was becoming increasingly concerned for Sam who refused to say anything about the incident.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Sam jolted awake with a start, gasping for air, and she looked at him with concern but before she could say anything, Dean beat her to the punch and asked:            

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” At Sam’s response, Dean just nodded and turned to face forward again. Talia couldn’t contain a snort at this ridiculous exchange.  It was obvious to her, and she was sure Dean had noticed as well, that Sam was definitely not okay. He had been getting nightmares constantly since the whole incident with Jessica, and by the dark bags that were beginning to show underneath his eyes, they were not letting him get enough sleep. 

She sympathized with him as she knew first hand what it was like to be plagued by bad dreams; besides that first night on the road with Dean, she had yet to have another undisturbed rest.  The face off with the woman in white hadn’t seemed to help and she hoped her lack of sleep wasn’t as noticeable as Sam’s was because she did not want the boys knowing she still had issues with nightmares. 

As far as they knew, she had stopped having them when she had stopped hunting, and she was happy to keep it that way. She did not want to be a burden on them, and especially with what Sam was going through, the last thing they needed was to be weighed down with her problems as well. Besides, it wasn’t as if they could do anything about it, this was something she had to deal with on her own.

She decided she wasn’t going to let Sam off that easily and leaned forward to ask, “Another nightmare?”

He cleared his throat and did not make eye contact with either one of them as he stared straight ahead, employing the same tactic he’d used before-refusing to acknowledge that there was anything wrong.

At Sam’s lack of response, Dean looked over once more and hesitantly added, “You wanna drive for awhile?”

Talia and Sam both peered over at him in shock and Sam laughed while Talia let out a disbelieving:

“What?!”

A little more rationally, Sam added, “Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that.”

Faced with both of their incredulous expressions, Dean became defensive and simply said, “Just thought you might want to. Never mind.”

“Look, man, you’re worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I’m perfectly okay.”

“Mm-hm. You and Talia both. You’re just fine.”

“Woah! What the hell, Dean? When did I become a part of this conversation? I’m not having any problems. I’m fine.”

“There it is again.  You both keep using that word but I’m not sure you know what it means anymore.” Dean interrupted Talia as she opened her mouth to refute his statement. “And don’t even think about lying to me and telling me I’m wrong.”

Talia snapped her mouth shut and just stared at Dean, too stunned to say anything.

“I’ve known you since you were born Talia. You really thought I couldn’t notice that you weren’t getting enough sleep? I saw it as soon as you opened your front door but I figured I’d give you time and you would come to talk to me about it when you were ready.  And then you had that nightmare just before we dropped Sam off but again, you didn’t say anything and tried to pretend like everything was fine. Neither you or Sam are willing to own up to the fact that you are not _fine_.”  Dean emphasized the last word with a sharp look at Sam and Talia before continuing, “You both refuse to admit that there’s a problem but I can see the exhaustion written on both your faces and you can’t live like that forever.”

Talia was unable to find the words to respond to Dean’s small rant and she was too upset that Dean had noticed her lack of sleep so quickly although, like he’d said, she should have known better. He knew her too well for her to have thought she could hide it for long.  Sam stayed silent as well probably not sure what to say either. She really didn’t want to talk about her problems at all, so, deciding to take a page out of Sam’s book, she ignored what Dean had said and instead grabbed a map and said:

“All right, where are we?”

Dean’s expression morphed into one of frustration and the look he shot her in the rearview mirror told her that she was by no means off the hook but thankfully he seemed willing to let the topic go for now as he replied, “We are just outside of Grand Junction.”

Talia looked down at the map in her hands, happy that Dean had let the topic drop, and while she tried to pinpoint their location and how much farther they had to go, Sam spoke up:

“You know what? Maybe we shouldn’t have left Stanford so soon.” Sam didn’t fool Talia with his casual tone and, while she was a little mad that he was entering back into the territory of a discussion she’d just managed to avoid, she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said:

“Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing.”

“She’s right, Sammy. If we wanna find the thing that killed Jessica-”

“We gotta find Dad first.” Sam interrupted, sounding resigned.

“Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it’s no coincidence.” Dean continued and with conviction he added. “Dad will have answers. He’ll know what to do.”

At Dean’s words, Talia felt a little reassured herself.  She had been wondering about the sudden reappearance of the thing that had killed the Winchesters’ mother but as soon as they found John, she was positive he would have the answers they sought. Growing up, John had always had the answers and she felt assured that this time would be no different.

Looking back at the map, she noticed something strange about where they had marked a red X at the spot that John’s coordinates led to. It seemed to be in the middle of a forest with nothing of significance anywhere nearby. She pointed this out to the boys:

“Guys, there’s something weird about these coordinates John left us and this Blackwater Ridge place they point to.”

Dean glanced back at her through the car mirror, “What about it?”

“There’s nothing there. It’s just woods.” Upon hearing this, Sam gestured to Talia who handed him the map as he proceeded to examine it himself.

Confirming Talia’s words, he wondered aloud: “Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?”

They soon pulled into a local Ranger Station to get more information about the area in question.  Talia followed Sam over to look at a 3D model map of the area when they entered the station.

“So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote.” Sam pointed out. “It’s cut off by these canyons here,” he pointed to this for Talia’s sake, “rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place.”

“Guys, check out the size of this freaking bear.”

Talia and Sam both looked over at Dean at his words and saw him looking at a picture hanging on a nearby wall. Walking over, Talia saw that it was a framed photo of a man standing next to a very large bear and she added to Sam’s previous statement:

“And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It’s certainly not a casual nature hike, that’s for sure.”

Suddenly a voice spoke up behind the group saying, “You three aren’t planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?”

Talia turned around, surprised, to see an older ranger facing them and holding a cup of coffee with one hand on his hip. Thinking quickly on her feet, she came up with a quick lie:

“Oh, no sir. We’re environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper.” Sam let out a very nervous sounding laugh while Dean smiled and raising his fist added:

“Recycle, man.” Talia nearly groaned aloud at this line and restrained herself from smacking Dean for his idiocy.

 “Bull.”

Clearly the ranger didn’t buy their act either and the trio froze and looked at one another helplessly but thankfully, the ranger didn’t seem too concerned as he continued:

“You’re friends with that Haley girl, right?”

Dean paused a moment to consider this statement before adding definitively, “Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger-” Dean glanced down to check the man’s ID before adding, “Wilkinson.”

“Well I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn’t be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it’s not exactly a missing persons now, is it?”

Dean shook his head to encourage the ranger to continue and Talia wondered if this had anything to do with John’s coordinates.

“You tell that girl to quit worrying, I’m sure her brother’s just fine.”

“We will.” Dean took a quick stab in the dark and added in, before the ranger left the room, “Well, that Haley girl’s quite a pistol, huh?

“That is putting it mildly.” The ranger scoffed.

Dean then stated, “Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother’s return date.”

The ranger and Dean stared at each other for a moment before the ranger consented and turned to go make a copy of the permit.  Soon, Talia and the Winchesters walked out of the station with Dean holding the piece of paper and laughing at his success. Sam, however, was not impressed and observed icily:

“What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked. Talia herself was confused as to why Sam was upset.

“The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let’s just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?”

At this point, the two had stopped and were staring at each other from across the Impala and Dean explained:

“I don’t know, maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into it?” Dean gave Sam a confused look as if it was obvious and Talia stared at Sam, even more puzzled than before as she wondered:

“Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later, Sam?”

“Since now.” Sam replied with a serious look on his face and then got into the car.

Talia looked over at Dean with concern for his brother’s response but he merely adopted a look of wonderment and said lightly:

“Oh, really?” He then got into the Impala as well and Talia was bewildered at his seeming lack of concern for his brother, especially after his speech in the car earlier but she shrugged it off to worry about later as she got in the car and they headed to find this girl, Haley.

They arrived at the residence listed on the permit and Dean took the lead as he knocked on the front door. After a moment, the door opened revealing a girl with shoulder length brown hair wearing a brown tank top. She stood behind the screen door and looked at them questioningly.

“You must be Haley Collins. I’m Dean, this is Talia and Sam, we’re, ah, we’re rangers with the Park Service.  Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy.”

Haley hesitated and seemed to consider them a moment before asking, “Let me see some ID.”

Dean rummaged in his pocket for the fake ID he had and then flashed it in front of the girl who, after examining it and Dean’s face, opened the door and said:

“Come on in.”

Dean took a step forward and as he did so, Talia saw Haley glance over his shoulder and catch sight of the Impala that was parked along the sidewalk in front of the house. She stared at it for a moment before looking back at Dean to ask:

“That yours?”

Talia couldn’t see his face, but she was sure that Dean had a proud smirk on his face as he answered:

“Yeah.”

“Nice car.” With that observation, Haley turned around and headed further into her house letting the three ‘rangers’ follow her in.  Dean proceeded to follow her but not before he turned back to Talia and Sam to mouth something back at them. Talia didn’t understand what he had tried to say but apparently Sam had and when she caught him rolling his eyes at Dean in her peripheral vision, she figured she wasn’t missing much.

Talia followed the Winchesters into the home where they gathered around a dining table where Haley’s younger brother sat. Haley walked into the nearby kitchen to grab a bowl of food while Sam inquired:

“So, if Tommy’s not due back for awhile, how do you know something’s wrong?”

“He checks in every day by cell.” Haley answered as she set the bowl on the table. “He emails, photos, stupid little videos but we haven’t heard anything in over three days now.”

Talia chimed in, “Well, maybe he can’t get cell reception.”

“He’s got a satellite phone, too.”

Dean popped in next asking, “Could it be he’s just having fun and forgot to check in?”

Ben, Haley’s brother who had been sitting silently at the table observing the conversation, finally spoke up as he insisted, “He wouldn’t do that.” Ben shot a dark look at Dean while he spoke, as if Dean had been purposefully trying to insult his brother.

“Our parents are gone. It’s just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other.” Haley’s response gave Talia an eerie sense of déjà vu as she was hit with the odd realization that Collins’ situation was quite similar to the Winchesters and her. Both had lost parents and become more tightly knit and protective of each other as they lived without their guidance figures. Sure, John had been there to take care of the three of them growing up but when he was off hunting most of the time, it had forced Talia, Dean, and Sam to look after one another. She was very understanding of Haley’s position and how concerned she was for her brother’s safety.  Not to mention, her search for her brother was very similar to their own search for John.

“Can I see the pictures he sent you?” Sam questioned gently. Haley agreed and went to grab her laptop as she pulled up the pictures her brother had sent her. She clicked through a couple photos of her brother before playing a video he had sent her:

“Hey Haley, day six, we’re still out near Blackwater Ridge. We’re fine, keeping safe, so don’t worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow.”

Talia barely caught the flicker of a shadow that flitted across the screen outside the tent behind Tom and by the slight nudging of Sam’s elbow against her side, he had seen it too.

“Well, we’ll find your brother. We’re heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing.” Dean reassured as Haley walked away from the laptop.  She turned around to reply casually:

“Then maybe I’ll see you there. Look, I can’t sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I’m heading out in the morning, and I’m gonna find Tommy myself.”

The look of understanding that Dean gave Haley revealed to Talia that he too had noticed the parallel between their two situations and her thoughts were confirmed as he replied, “I think I know how you feel.”

Sam spoke up once more from where he sat still looking at the laptop. “Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?”

“Sure.” And with that, Talia and Sam stood up and the trio took their leave of the Collin’s residence.

\----------------------------

Talia sat with the Winchesters at a table in the bar where they had decided to gather to get food and go over the research they had gathered so far. As they sat around the table, Sam reached into his bag to pull out the articles he had and began summarizing them for Talia and Dean:

“So, Blackwater Ridge doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly.” Sam lectured. “but still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found.”

“Any before that?” Dean questioned.

Sam handed Talia and Dean a newspaper article whose headline read ‘Grizzly Bear Attacks: Up to Eight Hikers Vanish in Lost Creek Area, Hikers Disappearance Baffle Authorities’.

“Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack,” said Sam in response to Dean’s inquiry.  He then pulled his laptop out of his bag while Talia was impressed by all the research Sam had amassed, she’d forgotten how good he was at it.

“And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936.” Sam continued as he opened his laptop to show the video of Tom that Haley had sent him. “Every twenty-three years, just like clockwork.” Sam then focused in on the video in front of him. “Okay. Watch this. Here’s a clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy’s video to the laptop. Check this out.”

Talia and Dean watched on as Sam clicked through three frames of the video in rapid succession and Talia noticed the same shadow she’d seen before go across the back of the tent.

“Do it again.” Dean stated.

Sam proceeded to play the same three frames again, this time a little bit slower and the shadow was now even more distinct. He pointed out:

“That’s three frames. That’s a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move.”

Dean hit Sam after he said this causing Sam too look up at him in surprise. “Told you something weird was going on.”

“Yeah.” Sam replied dismissively as he closed his laptop.

“I’ve got one more thing about this.” Talia stated eagerly, proud to have found something important while she had been helping Sam research. Dean and Sam looked over, the latter with a small smile on his face in remembrance of how excited she’d been to have found this information before him. “In ’59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. He was just a kid and barely crawled out of the woods alive.”

“Is there a name?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah,” Talia replied as she looked down at the one sheet of notes she had taken, “a Mr. Shaw. And I got his address too. Figured we could all pay him a visit.”

A little later that evening found the three of them standing in the house of Mr. Shaw, who was by now an old man, having used the same park ranger badge to garner a conversation with the man.

“Look, rangers, I don’t know why you’re asking me about this. It’s public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-”

“Grizzly? That’s what attacked them?” Sam interrupted the man in a questioning tone.

The man took a pause with his back to them, taking a puff of his cigarette before nodding.

“The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?” At Dean’s query, Mr. Shaw froze but didn’t say anything, so Dean continued. “What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?” This caused another halt in Mr. Shaw’s walk but again, he did not say a word.

Talia didn’t understand why the boys seemed to have adopted such an accusatory stance and she was worried they were going to scare the man and keep him from telling them anything and in a calm and reassuring tone she added:

“Mr. Shaw, if we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it. We could keep it from hurting anyone else ever again.”

At her words, the man contested, “I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don’t see what difference it would make.” He eased himself down into a nearby chair and continued, “You wouldn’t believe me. Nobody ever did.”

Talia walked closer and sat down next to him while she leaned forward and asked softly, “Mr. Shaw, what did you see?”

He was quiet for a moment and she saw fear flash in his eyes which caused her to worry that she’d frightened him by asking him to bring up painful memories but he spoke:

“Nothing. It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like no man or animal I ever heard.”

“It came at night?” Sam asked to which the man nodded and then Sam questioned again, “Got inside your tent?”

“It got inside our cabin.” Mr. Shaw said with fervor and he got a far off look in his eyes as he recounted the night’s events. “I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn’t smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it.” At this point, he looked up at stared straight at Talia as he asked, “Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn’t even wake up till I heard my parents screaming.”

“Did it kill them?” Talia inquired gently.

“Dragged them off into the night. Why it left me alive…been asking myself that ever since.” He paused a moment in thought before pulling down the collar of his shirt and saying, “Did leave me this, though.” As he pulled down his shirt, Talia saw three wide scars in the shape of claw marks that ran across the front of his shoulder and collar bone. They certainly didn’t look like they’d been left by any sort of grizzly bear that she had ever heard of.

Mr. Shaw added with finality, “There’s something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon.”

On that note, Talia and the Winchesters took their leave and as they walked down the hallway outside of Mr. Shaw’s apartment, they discussed the information they’d gathered so far.

“Spirits and demons don’t have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls.” Dean speculated aloud.

“So it’s probably something else, something corporeal.” Sam stated.

“Mr. Stanford over here is pulling out the big words.” Talia joked at the same time that Dean said:

“Corporeal? Excuse me, professor.”

Talia turned to face Dean with a look of surprise after they spoke over each other, both on the same train of thought about teasing Sam. He faced her looking shocked as well before she raised her hand for a high-five saying, with a laugh, “Nice one, Winchester!”

Dean smacked his hand against hers while Sam was staring, unamused at the pair of them. “Shut up guys.” He continued walking down the hallway, as he focused back in on the mystery they had yet to solve. “So what do you guys think?”

Talia took a moment to compose herself and recover from her laughter before she declared, “Well, with the claws, the speed that it moves at, it could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.”

“Whatever we’re talking about, we’re talking about a creature, and it’s corporeal.” Dean shot Talia a smirk as he said the last word, and she felt a grin spread on her face as well, before he continued, “Which means we can kill it.”

Talia then followed Dean out to the Impala where he opened up the trunk and then opened to lid to the weapons compartment which he promptly propped open with a shotgun.

“Keeping it classy as always I see Dean.” Talia commented dryly.

“Oh shut up. I get it, the trunk is messy.” Dean replied in exasperation as he pulled out a duffle bag and began filling it with a couple of guns. Sam joined them and stated:

“We cannot let that Haley girl go out there.”

“Oh yeah? What are we going to tell her? That she can’t go into the woods because of a big scary monster?” Dean asked him sarcastically.

“Yeah.” Sam replied simply.

“Her brother’s missing, Sam. She’s not going to just sit this out and telling her otherwise would work just as well as if we tried it on Talia. Which is to say, not at all.” Dean stated as he gathered the now full duffle bag.

Talia crossed her arms but couldn’t help but agree with his statement. If it had been her in Haley’s place and Sam or Dean had gone missing, she knew there was nothing that could stop her from going out to look for them, regardless of the danger.

“Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend.” Dean declared as if that was the end of it.

“Finding Dad’s not enough?” Sam stated angrily while he slammed the trunk shut aggressively and stared straight at Dean. “Now we have to babysit too?”

Talia watched Dean stare at Sam oddly which caused Sam to demand, “What?”

Dean kept staring at Sam for another moment before saying dismissively, “Nothing.” He then threw the duffle bag with some force at Sam, who thankfully caught it, before walking off.

Talia looked at Sam to find him steaming as he stared angrily at where Dean had gone, and she was concerned over the tension that was developing between the brothers. She tried to lay a calming hand on Sam’s shoulder and ask him what was wrong but he angrily shoved it off and stormed after Dean.  Confused, and a little bit affronted, she gathered herself and walked after the two of them.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, they were pulling up to the edge of the forest when up ahead of them they saw Haley, her brother Ben, and some unknown third man. They all looked like they were preparing to go hiking into the forest. Dean parked the car and the three of them got out as Dean asked:

“You guys got room for three more?”

“Wait, you want to come with us?” Haley asked doubtfully.

Suddenly, the man that Talia didn’t recognize spoke up, “What are these guys?”

“Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue.” Haley looked back and told him. The man, whose name was apparently Roy, then looked at the trio skeptically, especially Talia, and inquired:

“You’re rangers?”

Sam walked forward ignoring the question and Talia narrowed her eyes at Roy, already not liking him. Dean answered his inquiry with a simple, “That’s right.”

“And you’re hiking out in,” Haley gave a quick scan of Dean’s outfit, “biker boots and jeans?”

Dean took a moment to look down at his outfit before he looked up at her and said lightly, “Oh sweetheart, I don’t do shorts.” He then walked forward after Sam and Talia followed suit. Just as the two of them passed Roy he said:

“What, you think this is funny? It’s dangerous country out there. Her brother might be hurt.”

There it was again, the man kept implying that they were incompetent and Talia began to simmer a little bit in anger as she glared at the man. He didn’t know anything about them and he was already making assumptions about who they were. However, before she could say anything, Dean turned to reply seriously:

“Believe me, I know how dangerous this could get. We just want to help her find her brother, that’s all.” With those words, he set off once more after Sam and, sending one more glare in Roy’s direction, Talia followed Dean.

They were soon hiking through the forest with Roy in the lead followed by Dean, Talia, Haley and Ben with Sam bringing up the rear. Dean seemed set on antagonizing Roy and proving, to whom Talia wasn’t sure, that Dean was the greater hunter.

“So Roy, you said you did a little hunting.”

“Yeah, more than a little.” Roy said casually.

“Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?” Dean asked.

“Mostly buck, sometimes bear.”

Dean passed in front of Roy as he asked with humor that only Talia and Sam understood the reason for, “Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?” Dean strutted forward confidently before Roy grabbed Dean and pulled him to a halt.

Talia started forward, scared that Dean had angered the man but Roy merely grabbed a nearby stick and poked it into a bear trap that Dean had been just about to step into. The trap snapped shut in an instant and neatly cleaved the end of the stick off.

Talia froze in fear at how close Dean had come to sauntering his way into a lot of pain and possibly a lost limb. Roy looked at Dean and stated icily:

“You should watch where you’re stepping, Ranger.” He then released the stick and continued on in the lead of their party.

Dean tried to brush off the moment with a laugh while he said with feigned frivolity to the rest of the group, “It’s a bear trap.”

Talia continued on behind Roy and heard Haley declare with annoyance:

“You didn’t pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffle bag. You’re not rangers. So who the hell are you?”

At her question, Talia winced and then turned around to see that Dean and Haley were stopped a little further back and she trudged back through the shrubbery to stand next to Dean in case he wanted help with this conversation.

Before she came up beside him, she saw Sam stop and give Dean a questioning glance that seemed to ask if Dean needed help handling this. Talia couldn’t catch the expression that Dean gave in response but she assumed he’d communicated that he had it covered because Sam continued walking and nodded for Talia to do the same.

Talia didn’t catch any of the conversation that went on but she gathered that it had gone well as Dean caught up to her and began walking beside her with a casual grin on his face as he held the large bag of peanut M&M’s that he’d brought with him. She looked over her shoulder to see that Haley had also caught up and was walking behind them. Glad that Dean had smoothed over any problems, she looked back at him and then swiped the bag of M&M’s from his hand before he could grab another handful. Dean looked at her with exasperation but waited patiently for her to pour as many as she could fit into her pocket before she tossed the bag back at him.

“Still got that sweet tooth I see.” Dean said with a laugh as he caught the bag.

“Says the pot to the kettle.” She replied as she popped one into her mouth and crunched down on it loudly.

“You’re both ridiculous.  And that’s an insanely unhealthy snack, by the way.” Sam chimed in from ahead of them.

“Well no one asked for your opinion, Sam.” Talia said dismissively and she hurled an M&M at his back, pumping her fist in victory when she nailed him in the back of the head.

“Hey! What the hell?” Sam turned back as he rubbed the back of his head.

Talia simply shrugged and said, “You should know better than to insult my eating habits. It can be hazardous to your health.”

Sam rolled his eyes are her but turned around in resignation and continued walking ahead, although Talia did notice him pick up his pace to put some space between them. She also looked up to see Roy, who had been leading, had stopped and was watching her with a look of disapproval and disgust on his face. Talia met his stare and broke out in a wide grin as she waved her fingers mockingly at him.

He huffed, frowned, and then turned around to continue leading the group as the ventured through the forest of Blackwater Ridge.

\-------------------------------------

             They had been hiking for awhile longer when Roy came to a stop at the front of the group and declared, “This is it. Blackwater Ridge.”

            “What coordinates are we at?” Sam inquired as he stepped forwards a little bit. Talia walked up to stand beside him and Dean joined them as well.

            “Thirty-five and minus one-eleven.” Roy replied after checking his GPS and Talia realized those were the same exact coordinates that John had written down in his journal. She and the Winchesters were silent for a moment as the listened and scanned the forest around them.

            “You hear that?” Dean asked quietly.

            “Yeah. Not even crickets.” Talia murmured, struck by the strangeness of the utter silence that surrounded them in what should be a forest bursting with activity and the noise of wildlife.

            “I’m going to go take a look around.” Roy proclaimed as he packed away his GPS.

            “You shouldn’t go off by yourself.” Sam warned and Talia knew he was right; the creature could be around here anywhere. However, Roy was not dissuaded and he smiled as he sarcastically added:

            “That’s sweet. Don’t worry about me.”

            This man was getting on Talia’s nerves with his constant condescending tone and his dismissal of everything that they said. She knew that he didn’t really know what was out there, not that she or the boys knew exactly what either, but they at least had an idea. Roy’s ignorance could get him killed, and as much as he annoyed her, she didn’t want that to happen.

            She looked at both of the boys, who seemed to be annoyed at Roy’s actions as well, and they silently agreed that they needed to stick together. So, Dean turned back to Haley and Ben to insist:

            “All right, everybody stays together. Let’s go.” He then lead the way into the forest in the direction Roy had gone off in.

            They wandered for a few minutes before Roy’s voice arose from not far away yelling, “Haley! Over here!”

            Haley sprinted in the direction of his voice and they all quickly followed suit. They came upon Roy to see he had discovered what must have been Tommy’s campsite. The place was completely trashed, the two tents were basically ripped to shreds and were covered in multiple blood splatters. Various camping equipment and gear was strewn across the ground haphazardly but as Talia walked through the remains of the campsite she saw no bodies.

            “Looks like a grizzly.” Roy observed. Haley suddenly walked forward, looking out in to the surrounding woods and shouting her brothers name. Sam quickly rushed forward and shushed her, looking around nervously for any sign that the creature was still around.

            “Why?” Haley challenged as she looked at Sam in confusion.

            “Something might still be out there.”

            “Sam! Talia!” Dean’s voice called out and Talia and Sam walked over to where Dean was crouched down looking at weird track marks in the dirt.

            “The bodies were dragged from the campsite.” Dean explained. “But here, the tracks just vanish. That’s weird.” He stood back up and started walking back to the demolished campsite as he added, “I’ll tell you what, that’s no skinwalker or black dog.”

            When they got back to the campsite, Talia saw Haley bend down to pick up what must have been Tommy’s cellphone. It was cracked and covered in blood and she had a saddened look on her face as she examined it. Talia saw Dean head over to Haley and crouch down next to her to comfort and reassure her that her brother may still be alive. Suddenly, they heard a voice crying out in pain:

            “Help! Help!” The entire group stood to face the direction the sound had come from and were frozen for but a moment before Roy sprinted off towards it followed closely by Dean, who had whipped out his pistol, and the rest of the group.

            “Help! Somebody!” The disembodied voice cried out again and they sprinted towards it until the came to a clearing and the voice remained silent.

            Talia scanned their surroundings hastily, trying to find the source of the noise but she couldn’t find the person that had been shouting for help.

            “It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn’t it?” Haley asked nervously.

            They all continued peering around and listening intently when Sam suddenly declared, “Everybody back to camp.” He then ran forward and lead the way back to where they had just come from.

            When they got there, all of their packs were missing. Talia thought about making a joke about lamenting the loss of the peanut M&Ms but then she decided now was probably not the best time for it.

            “Our packs!” Haley cried out.

            “So much for my GPS and my satellite phone.” Roy stated.

            “What the hell is going on?” Haley wondered as she looked around.

            “It’s smart. It wants to cut us off so we can’t call for help.” Talia replied from behind her as she considered the situation.

            “You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear.” Roy demanded angrily but before Talia could say anything in reply Sam walked over to her and said lowly:

            “I need to speak with you. In private.” He then walked over and said the same thing to Dean and the three of them walked a little way away from the group.

            Once they were out of earshot, Sam faced Dean and said, “Good. Let me see Dad’s journal.”

            Once Dean had handed it over, Sam began rustling through the pages until he found the one he was looking for and he held it up for Talia and Dean to see.

            “All right, check that out.” Sam pointed at a simple drawing of a figure that was taking up half of a page.

            “Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan. I’ve never even heard of one this far west.” Dean exclaimed.

            “No wait, I think Sam’s onto something. Think about it Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice.”

            “Great.” Dean declared in exasperation as he pulled out his pistol and shook it in his hand as he announced, “Well, then this is useless.”

            Sam just stared at Dean for a moment before he handed him back John’s journal roughly and walked back to the rest of the group as he insisted, “We gotta get these people to safety.”

            Talia followed Sam and after a moment, she heard Dean start walking behind her. As she broke through foliage and emerged back at the campsite she heard Sam announce:

            “All right, listen up, it’s time to go. Things have gotten…more complicated.”

            “What?” Haley demanded confusion.

            “Kid, don’t worry. Whatever’s out there, I think I can handle it.” Roy said in that same condescending tone that infuriated Talia so much.

            “It’s not me I’m worried about.” Sam stated angrily. “If you shoot this thing, you’re just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now.”

            However, Roy was not convinced and raised his voice as he protested, “One, you’re talking nonsense. Two, you’re in no position to give anybody orders.”

            Talia could feel her blood beginning to boil at his tone and his continued refusal to listen to what she or the Winchesters said and she could tell that Sam was starting to get pissed as well. She was sick and tired of Roy’s enormous ego and how he continued to lord over them like he had any right to be in charge of them.

            “Relax.” Dean’s calming tone came from the side as he observed the confrontation.

            Sam responded to Roy’s challenge with ire as he emphasized, “We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I’m trying to protect you.”

            Roy was not influenced by this and he stepped closer, into Sam’s space but before he could say anything, Talia stepped between the two and pushed them apart as she ordered them to, “Calm down, both of you.”

Sam ignored her though and continued, “This thing is a damn near perfect hunter. It’s smarter than you, and it’s gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here”

Roy merely laughed and commented, “You know you’re crazy, right?”

“Yeah? You ever hunt a wen-” Before Sam could finish his sentence, Dean came over to help intervene and shoved Sam away, demanding:

“Chill out.”

            At this point though, Talia was getting infuriated by Roy’s continued arrogance and insults, and she was never one to keep silent when she had something to say. So, she turned away from where Dean was occupied with calming Sam down and faced Roy as she declared in a firm voice:

            “We are trying to protect you, asshole, so if you could find it within yourself to shut your mouth for like two seconds then maybe, we can make it out of here alive. Now why don’t you listen to what Sam says so he can help keep you safe.”

            She hoped that Roy would just listen to her but he seemed to be even further angered by her words and he stepped into her personal space until they were face to face as he asserted:

            “You protect me? Oh that’s real cute sweetie, I’d like to see you try. I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night.”

            Talia normally didn’t have such a short fuse but at his patronizing use of the word ‘sweetie’, a word she had always despised, his refusal to stop talking, and the mention of her mother, she felt her fury, that had been slowly simmering all day, explode.

Before she had made any conscious decision to do so, she thrown her hand out in a punch directed straight a Roy’s face. Her right fist connected strongly with his nose and she felt a satisfying crunch beneath her hand.  She was by no means at her peak muscular strength but she was only a couple inches shorter than him and she had grown up hunting with the Winchesters, which meant she certainly knew how to put everything she had into a punch.

“Oh my god!” Haley cried out from nearby.

Roy staggered back in surprise from the force of her blow, clutching his nose and Talia took a step forward, intent on stalking closer and giving him a further piece of her mind as she said heatedly, “You just won’t stop talking, will you? And don’t you dare speak about my mother. You know nothing about her, you-”

She was interrupted in her process by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her from behind and pulled her backwards away from Roy who she saw, with no small amount of satisfaction, was trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

She struggled in the arms restraining her until Dean’s voice alerted her that it was him holding her as he said, “Hey! Dammit Talia, it’s me. Calm down.”

She calmed down a little at his words and let Dean drag her away until he released her and turned her around to face him as he demanded, “What the hell was that? One second you’re helping to calm the situation and then I turn around and you’re throwing punches!”

“I’m fine, Dean. I just got a little upset. That’s all.”

Her fury was quickly dissipating and she was starting to feel ashamed at her actions. Normally she was not very hot-headed and it took a lot to make her truly mad which made it even more out of character for her to punch Roy. She could see the same surprise that she felt in Dean’s face mixed with skepticism which demanded further explanation from her, so she elaborated:

“I don’t really know what happened, to be honest. He has been getting on my nerves all day but I was fine and then all of a sudden, I just got really mad about what he said. And then he mentioned my mom and I just…” She trailed off as she felt the familiar sorrow tighten her throat with the mention of her mom and Dean, sensing her sadness, pulled her to him in a tight embrace as he reassured her.          

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand”

She buried her head in the collar of his leather jacket and as she breathed in its scent, she felt the grief chasing away the last of her anger. After a moment longer of enjoying the comfort of the hug, Talia broke away and took a deep, relaxing breath.

“Now, promise me you’ll try to restrain yourself from knocking out the next person who looks at you wrong.” Dean declared with a serious look.

She let out a small laugh, “I will. Thanks Dean. Now, we need to get everyone and get out of here. These people are in danger.”

Dean nodded and the two of them joined back with the rest of the group where Talia saw that Roy’s nose had thankfully stopped bleeding.  She avoided making eye contact with anyone as Dean declared once more:

“Alright, everyone we need to leave this forest, now.”

“No.” At Haley’s refusal, everyone turned to her. “Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I’m not leaving here without him.”

There was a long pause as Dean seemed to consider this before saying, “It’s getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We’ll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves.”

“How?” Haley questioned dubiously.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time night had fallen, Talia and the Winchesters were almost done constructing as secure a campsite as they could manage over the remains of the previous one. Currently, her and Dean were working on drawing protective symbols around the camp.

“One more time, that’s-” Haley asked from around the campfire they’d set up, where she and her brother were currently huddled.

“Anasazi symbols,” Dean explained, “It’s for protection. The wendigo can’t cross over them.”

Roy laughed from nearby where he stood with his gun over his shoulder but didn’t make any other comment. Talia liked to think her punch had taught him to keep his mouth shut. She did not let his disbelief bother her and did her best to ignore him altogether.

“Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy.” Dean announced.

Talia walked over to sit next to Sam, who had been sitting quietly on a log, once she finished drawing her symbol in the dirt.  Neither of them had spoken much after the incident with Roy and while she was merely feeling awkward after her uncharacteristic display of violence and trying to avoid another, she wasn’t sure what was up with Sam.

Dean finished up with his symbol and then sat on the other side of Sam and inquired softly, “You wanna tell me what’s going on in that freaky head of yours?”

Talia remained quiet, assuming he was addressing Sam as they had already discussed her issue earlier.

“Dean-”

Dean interrupted Sam before he could finish his sentence, “No, you’re not _fine_. You’re like a powder keg, man, it’s not like you. I’m supposed to be the belligerent one, remember? But between you and Talia, I’m out of a job.”

Now that Talia looked back on the situation, she realized that she hadn’t been the only one to display some uncharacteristic anger. Sam had been just as much in Roy’s face as she had before Dean had pushed him away and she realized they had been close to blows as well.

“Why are you lecturing me, Dean? I’m not the one who punched a guy.” Sam replied indignantly.

“Yeah well, I already talked to Talia about it and now it’s your turn.”

Sam was silent for awhile in thought before he proclaimed quietly, “Dad’s not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Dean confirmed before admitting, “Tell you the truth, I don’t think Dad’s ever been to Lost Creek.”

This seemed to be the center of Sam’s worries as he said, “Then let’s get these people back to town and let’s hit the road. Go find Dad.” Sam threw a stick he was holding against the ground in frustration as he demanded, “I mean, why are we still even here?”

Dean thought about how to answer this for a moment before he moved to sit across from Sam and Talia and pulled out John’s journal saying, “This is why.” He held the journal out as he went on, “This book. This is Dad’s single most valuable possession-everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he’s passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.”

Sam shook his head in an expression of continued frustration as he contended, “That makes no sense. Why doesn’t he just call us? Why doesn’t he tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?”

“I dunno. But the way I see it, Dad’s giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it.”

“Dean…no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica’s killer. It’s the only thing I can think about.” As he spoke, Talia saw that empty look, the same one he’d had the night Jessica had died, become vividly apparent in his eyes once more. She was once again reminded of what Sam had gone through and what he was still probably struggling through.

“We’ll find them Sam, I promise.” Talia reassured, speaking up for the first time.

“She’s right, but listen to me. You’ve gotta prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take awhile, and all that anger, you can’t keep it burning over the long haul. It’s gonna kill you.” Dean stared directly at Sam as he said this to emphasize his words. “You gotta have patience, man.”

Sam stared at his feet for a moment before looking up and asking with disbelief, “How do you two do it? How does Dad do it?”

Talia took this moment to look over at where Haley and Ben were still gathered around the fire for warmth as she replied, “Well for one, them.” She saw Sam’s gaze also turn to where she was looking as she continued, “I mean, I figure both of our families are so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. It makes things a little bit more bearable.”

There was a pause as Dean nodded in agreement to her statement before adding, “I’ll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can.”

Both Talia and Sam smiled at his statement but their conversation was broken up by the loud snapping of a twig in the shadows surrounding their encampment.  A voice cried out:

“Help me! Please!”

The three of them shot to there feet and Dean pulled out his gun while Sam clicked on a flashlight and shone it around as they all scanned the woods. Talia stood next to Dean uneasily as they were unable to find anything.

“He’s trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put.” Dean announced.

“Inside the magic circle?” Roy said mockingly and Talia turned to say something but another outburst from the wendigo, crying for help, reminded her that they had more important things to worry about.

Suddenly, they heard a growling noise emerge from the darkness and Talia heard Roy comment, “Okay, that’s no grizzly.”

Dean went to stand next to Roy as they both pointed their guns at the noise and tracked it around the outside of the camp as it moved.

Talia stood next to Haley and Ben protectively, trying to calm them and keep an eye on them while also looking out for the wendigo. Haley sat down next to Ben and said reassuringly to her little brother, “It’s okay. You’ll be all right, I promise.”

Something rushed past them in an instant and Haley shrieked and fall down while Sam cried out, “It’s here.” Talia stood in front of the pair on the ground and saw Roy take shots at the rustling bushes.  His third round resulted in a screech being let out and he yelled in triumph:

“I hit it!” He then rushed into the woods to investigate and see what he hit.

“Roy, no! Roy!” Dean yelled, trying to get the man to stop, with no luck. He then turned back to Talia, Haley, and Ben and ordered, “Talia, stay here with them. Don’t move.”

Talia, who was clutching a stick from the fire that was burning on one end as a weapon, nodded in assent and watched as Dean and Sam ran into the woods after Roy. She didn’t turn around as she tried to assure Haley and Ben who were huddled together behind her.

“Don’t worry guys, everything is gonna be okay.” Talia continued to keep scanning the woods around them nervously as she waited for the boys to get back with Roy.

It seemed like hours had passed but it had likely only been a couple of minutes when she heard a rustling sound close by.  She turned to face the noise in an instant, clutching the stick in her hands tightly as she hoped to god that it wasn’t the wendigo.

Thankfully, it was just Sam and Dean returning and she looked at Dean questioningly when she didn’t see Roy behind them. He simply shook his head in response and she hung her head, she couldn’t believe Roy hadn’t made it. Sure, he had been annoying and she had punched him in the face, but she hadn’t wanted him to die.

With nothing else to do, the group settled in to wait out the night and Talia sat down with her back to the fire to keep watch as she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.

The night proved to be one of the longest nights of her life and as morning came, Talia stood up, rubbing her eyes and she yawned in exhaustion. She saw that Sam was still perched against the same tree stump he’d been leaning against all night and Dean had walked over to examine a tree with claw marks across it.

“I don’t…I mean, these types of things, they aren’t supposed to be real.” Haley pointed out in disbelief to no one in particular from where she was sat upon the ground next to Ben.  Talia was too tired to respond and she figured Dean would handle the explanation.

“I wish I could tell you different.” Dean responded simply.

“How do we know it’s not out there watching us?” Haley asked next.

“We don’t,” Dean admitted, “But we’re safe, for now.”

“How do you know about this stuff?”

Dean seemed to consider this a moment before he replied, “Kind of runs in the family.”

Well that certainly was true, Talia thought. Sam walked over to join them as said, “Hey. So we’ve got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch.”

He looked pointedly at Dean and Talia as he quoted Dean’s words from the night before. Talia was glad to see that Sam had seemed to settle down and taken her and Dean’s advice to heart. Dean seemed to notice the change in Sam as well as he grinned and proclaimed:

“Well, hell, you know I’m in.”

Talia simply nodded her head with a smile on her face and watched as Sam opened up John’s journal to the page about the wendigo, to show it to Haley and Ben as he informed them:

“Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means ‘evil that devours’.”

Dean joined in on the little lesson as he added, “They’re hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter.” He walked past them and starting picking things up from the ground as he worked on assembling a weapon they could use against the wendigo.

“How’s a man turn into one of those things?” Haley inquired.

“It’s always the same story. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Then he becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp.” Talia chimed in.

“Like the Donner Party.” Ben commented.

“Yeah,” Talia affirmed, “Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality.”

“If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You’re always hungry.” Dean said further.

There speech seemed to concern Haley as she wondered, “So if that’s true, how can Tommy still be alive?”

The three of them looked at each other for a moment before Dean admitted, “You’re not gonna like it.”

“Tell me.” Haley demanded strongly and Talia admired her resilience. She was handling this whole thing very well for someone just being introduced to the supernatural world.

“More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food.  It hibernates for years at a time, but when it’s awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants.” Dean explained honestly. “If your brother’s alive, it’s keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there.”

“And then how do we stop it?”

“Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically-” Dean held up the tools he’d gathered, a beer bottle, white cloth, and a can of lighter fluid. “We gotta torch the sucker.”

Dean lead the way through the woods, holding his homemade Molotov cocktail in his hand as he followed the trail of broken branches and bloody claw marks in the trees. They walked for awhile and Sam took the lead for awhile until he stopped and called out, “Dean. Talia.”

They walked up next to him and he gestures to the trees surrounding them, which are all covered in bloody claw marks.

“You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They were almost too easy to follow.”

A growling noise interrupted them before Sam could elaborate and they all whirled around to face the noise as there was a rustling noise in the trees. The group clustered together and scanned around when suddenly, Haley let out a shriek and jumped forwards, falling onto the ground as she did so.

Talia turned to face her to see a body dropping down from the trees and landing limply right where Haley had been standing a moment ago. Once the body had landed, Talia realized it was Roy and she stood there in shock as she looked at his clearly dead body. Sam bent down to help Haley up while Dean checked Roy’s body and confirmed:

“His neck’s broken.”

Haley had just gotten back to her feet when they heard more growling from nearby.

“Okay, run, run! Go, go, go!” Dean shouted as he hurried them all forward and away from the noise.

Talia began full out sprinting with the rest of the group as they ran through the forest. Dean, the fastest runner, was in the lead and Talia and Haley were right behind him with Ben and Sam behind them. Talia heard Ben fall down behind her and turned to help him but Sam shouted from behind her:

“Go! I got him, just keep running!” She didn’t hesitate and turned to keep running as she followed Haley in front of her. Adrenaline was pumping through Talia’s veins giving her a burst of energy and she stretched her legs as far as they would go to push her body as fast it could go. She sucked at sprinting though and she could already feel her lungs heaving for air as she ran and wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up this pace.

When she saw that she was starting to fall behind Haley and Dean who were both obviously in much better shape than she was, she sucked in deeper breaths as she ordered her body to get over it and keep moving. She refused to die just because she had not worked out in a long time and she felt a new burst of speed.

She then did a quick check behind her to make sure Sam had gotten Ben up okay but that proved to be her downfall. As she turned forward again, she saw there was a log lying across the path right in front of her. It was too late to avoid it and she tried to jump over it but her legs were too exhausted from running to push her high enough in the air to clear it. Her legs caught on the log and she face-planted over it, letting out a shriek as she landed hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs.

At the sound of her yell, Talia saw Haley stop and turn around to look at her. Haley rushed back to help Talia and as she lay on the ground she struggled to breathe again as she let out a croak trying to tell Haley to keep running and leave her. Suddenly, she heard a growling come from behind her. It was way too close for comfort and the last thing Talia heard was Haley screaming as she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and then was enveloped in darkness.

\--------------------------------------

A violent shaking brought Talia back into the realm of consciousness as she felt someone rattling her with their hands on her shoulders. She let out a groan as the motion agitated her very sore head and as she became more aware of her surroundings, she heard a frantic voice calling her name.

“Talia! Talia, wake up!”

Wincing at the throbbing in her head, Talia slowly cracked open her eyes to take in the scene before her. Sam’s face swam in front of her eyes and she realized he’d been the one calling her name and shaking her. She also realized that she was hanging from the ceiling of wherever she was by her wrists, which was an extremely painful position to be in.

“Hey, stay with me. You okay?” Sam shook her again as he spoke and she realized she’d closed her eyes again. She struggled to keep them open as she replied with a hoarse voice:

“Yeah. I’m peachy.”

“Okay, well I’m going to cut you down now.” Sam reached up and cut the rope that was holding her wrists and she immediately fell towards the ground, unable to hold herself up. Thankfully, Sam caught her before she could hit the ground although she let out another groan of pain as his arms wrapped around her sore ribs and the wonderful aching sensation of all the blood rushing back into her arms hit her. He supported her against his side and started to half walk, half carry her forwards.

They didn’t make more than a couple steps before her legs once more refused to hold her weight and they buckled beneath her. Sam helped guide her to sit on the floor at this point and she leaned against the wall and took a moment to rest and take in her surroundings.

They looked to be in some sort of cave system, maybe an abandoned mine shaft she thought, and the only light came from a few rays of sunlight that peeked through holes in the ceiling. Next to her, she saw Ben helping Haley and Talia was glad to see that Haley had survived, although she felt extremely guilty that she was the reason that Haley had gotten caught in the first place.

“Talia! You all right?” She turned at towards Dean’s voice to see him rushing over from where he’d apparently been standing guard while Sam cut her down. He crouched down next to her as she made pained noises while unraveling the ropes from around her wrists and rubbing them to encourage blood flow.

She grimaced a bit in pain but declared, “Yeah, I’m good. Where is he?”

“He’s gone for now.” Sam answered her while Dean continued to look at her in concern.

“Tommy…” Haley cried out from next to them and Talia turned to see her looking at someone hanging from the ceiling next to where she’d just been cut down. Talia figured that must be Haley’s brother, and she tried to get up to help as she watched Haley, aided by Ben, limp over to her brother.

Dean pushed her back down though and told her, “No, you need to just chill for a moment. Sam will go help.”

With a sigh, Talia leaned back and resigned herself to watching Sam walk over to where Haley was shaking the limp body of her brother while sobbing his name with desperation. She reached out a hand to touch his cheek and then Tommy’s head jerked up with a gasp causing Haley to jump back with a shriek. Recovering herself, she then held onto him while she looked at Sam and said, “Cut him down!”

While Sam was helping free Tommy, Talia looked to the right of where she was sat and noticed their stolen packs and supplies were lying piled in the corner next to her.

“Dean! Look.” She pointed them out to Dean and then the both of them began scavenging through them, looking for anything that might help them out. She saw Dean smile triumphantly as he stumbled upon two flare guns in one of the packs.

“Awesome!” He exclaimed with satisfaction before setting them on the ground and turning to her. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better, do you think you could help me stand up?” With Dean’s help, and a little leaning against the wall, Talia managed to get upright and stand without any support of her own although her head did spin a little at first. Once Dean was sure she could stand up alright, he picked up the flare guns again and called out to Sam, who was still over helping the Collins family.

“Check it out.” Dean held up the guns to show Sam.

“Flare guns. Those’ll work.” Sam grinned while Dean laughed and twirled both of the weapons in his hands theatrically.

Once everyone was standing up, they began their slow progress back down the tunnel and out to the surface. Ben and Haley were helping Tommy walk while Sam hovered nearby in case they needed help. Talia trudged along in front of them and behind Dean who had offered to help her walk but she stubbornly refused his help despite the struggle she was having to stay up and keep moving. She didn’t want to be any more of a burden on him and besides, Dean and Sam were their only protection and both of them needed to be free in case the wendigo came back.

As if summoned by her thoughts, a growl echoed ominously through the tunnel and Dean commented, “Looks like someone’s home for supper.”

“We’ll never outrun it.” Haley observed.

Talia watched Sam and Dean exchange glances as they considered the situation and she didn’t like the looks that were passing between them.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dean questioned Sam who nodded and replied:

“Yea, I think so.”

“Wait, guys what are you planning?” Talia asked nervously. Both of them ignored her as Dean turned to the Collins family and declared:

“All right, listen to me. Stay with Sam. He’s gonna get you out of here.”

“Dean, what are you doing? You can’t go off on you own!” Talia demanded again as she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“I’ll be fine, just stay with Sammy.” He patted her on the shoulder and then turned to walk down a different tunnel as he yelled out:

“Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that’s right, bring it on, baby, I’m feeling good!”

Talia sighed but realized there was nothing she could do considering she was barely keeping herself upright. She then turned to Sam who waited until Dean had rounded the corner and his words became indistinct before leading the way down a different tunnel.  He lead the way through the maze of tunnels with his flare gun out while Talia walked behind him and tried to keep an eye on the family behind her at the same time.

They were going at a pretty steady pace when they reached an intersection right in front of the exit and heard the growling once more. Sam pointed his gun towards the noise for a moment before lowering it and turning to face Talia.

“Get them outta here.” He ordered sternly.

“Sam, no. I won’t leave you here.” Talia protested.

“Go! Go!” Sam shouted back and gestured for them to leave but Talia still did not move. She finally moved to leave when Haley pulled on her sleeve and cried:

“Come on, Talia! We need to go.”

Talia turned and lead them further down the tunnel, hurrying them along as fast as they could go. They hadn’t gone very far when she heard the sound of a gunshot firing from further down the tunnel behind them. She turned around at the noise and yelled out:

“Sam!” She quickly saw the outline of his body sprinting to catch up with them and when he did, he urged them to go even faster as he shouted:

“Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry.” Talia could hear the growling of the wendigo behind them as it chased them through the tunnels. The sound was getting closer and closer when they turned a corner and reached a dead end.

“No!” Sam cried out and then turned to look for a different path but it was too late. The wendigo had already turned the corner as well and stood less than 50 feet in front of them. The Collins family huddled together in fear and Talia figured there was not much else they could do so she said:

“Get behind us.” Together, she and Sam stood in front the family with their arms out protectively; serving as the last barrier between them and the monster in front of them. The creature seemed to realize they were cornered and it took its time stalking forward as it growled at them again. Although it was dark in the tunnel, Talia could just make out the terrifying creature that was covered in leathery skin and was eerily human-like and yet not at the same time.

“Hey!” Dean’s shout interrupted Talia’s examination of the creature as it turned around to face the noise. As soon as it was facing him, Dean fired the flare gun right at its stomach which caused it to immediately catch fire and the wendigo went up in flames as it screeched in pain.  Talia watched in sick fascination as its flesh slowly burned away before it fell to the ground, dead but still burning.

“Not bad, huh?” Dean said cockily and Talia couldn’t help but grin at him, thankful that he was okay, that they were all okay.

\--------------------------------

             Talia sat patiently on the bed of the ambulance as the paramedics finished bandaging her up. Thankfully she hadn’t sustained any major injuries, just some cuts, scrapes, and bruises and they told her that she just needed some food, water and lots of rest.  She couldn’t agree more with that last part as she yawned again, she was exhausted and couldn’t wait to pass out in the Impala for some much needed sleep.

            She stood up once the paramedics were done and walked over to join Dean, Haley, Sam and Ben who were all saying goodbye.  Just as she got there, Haley kissed Dean on the cheek and said:

            “I hope you find your father.” Then she and Ben headed towards the ambulance to ride back to the hospital with their brother. As she passed Talia and Sam she added, “Thanks, Sam and you too, Talia.”

            Talia nodded in response and then stood by Dean while Sam hopped up to sit on the Impala’s hood next to his brother. They all watched in silence as the door to the ambulance containing the entire Collins family was closed and then it drove off.

            “Man, I hate camping.” Dean asserted strongly.

            Talia let out a soft snort of amusement at his statement while Sam replied, “Me too.”

            There was another couple moments of silence as they all sat lost in their own thoughts before Dean said, “Sam, you know we’re gonna find Dad, right?”

            “Yeah, I know.” Sam paused for a moment before he added with a smirk, “But in the meantime? I’m driving.”

            Dean seemed to consider this while he jangled the keys to the Impala in his hand before he tossed the keys up for Sam to catch and then hopped off the hood to walk towards the passenger’s side. Sam caught the keys with a smile as he walked to the driver’s side. Talia stood there for a moment in shock. She couldn’t believe that Dean was actually gonna let Sam drive for the first time, ever.

            Shaking off her surprise she climbed into the backseat, for once happy to sit in the back as it would give her a comfortable place to sleep. She settled down, feeling like she could sleep for the next week, as Sam turned the engine on and they roared off down the road to continue their search for John.


	9. Chapter 9

A rough shaking dragged Talia from her slumber as Sam’s voice reached her ears, telling her to wake up and come with him to get breakfast. She groaned sleepily and rolled over in defiance as she pulled the blankets tighter around herself; as if they could protect her from Sam’s insistent nagging.

“Come on Talia, get up. Dean’s already awake and eating in the diner.”

They hadn’t checked into the motel until the early hours of the morning and she’d barely managed to kick her shoes off before she collapsed onto a bed and fallen asleep. The only thing that had disturbed her slumber had been Dean shoving her over to make room when he’d gone to bed a few minutes later.

The two of them had always shared a bed when they were younger, a habit that had quickly developed when they discovered it was the only thing that seemed to help Talia with her nightmares.  Dean had a natural talent for calming her down when she’d awake panicked and crying from a nightmare and she would always seek him out for solace as a child. Many a night would find her scrambling out of the bed and creeping over to shake Dean awake and crawl into his bed in the middle of the night.  It had become so frequent that it was more convenient for him to be close by.

Years later, the routine was still ingrained, despite it being some years since she’d shared a motel with the Winchesters, and it had now become necessary for an altogether different reason. Sam had grown far too large to allow room for her to share a bed with him and his tendency to sprawl out in the middle of the night didn’t help matters either. The one time they’d tried it, after Dean had complained about why he was always the one that had to share, she had ended up on the floor rubbing a bruised tailbone and glaring at an apologetic Sam. Needless to say, that ended the argument rather quickly.

Sam refused to allow Talia to fall back asleep and continued to pester her until, with a loud grumble, she tossed her pillow at him and dragged herself out of bed. Sam let out a laugh as he caught the pillow before tossing it back on the bed. She shot another glare in his direction as she mumbled under her breath:

“I hate morning people.” She rummaged in her bag for clothes to wear and settled on her favorite pair of dark blue jeans, a plain black tank top, and her favorite sweatshirt. It was a black sweatshirt with Stanford written across it in big red block letters. It had been a gift from Sam for Christmas during his first year away at college and it she had worn it almost everyday because it helped her to feel closer to Sam when she was missing him. It was a little big for her but she loved how baggy it was and she was comforted by its fuzzy warmth.

With her clothes bundled in her hand, she walked into the bathroom to change while Sam waited for her. After she had thrown on the fresh clothes, she faced the mirror to figure out what she wanted to do with her hair.

Looking at her reflection she stared into her green eyes and noticed they were swollen from sleep deprivation; no surprise there. The deep tan she had obtained over the summer had faded a little and her skin had returned to its natural light tan color. Most of the freckles on her face had receded as well and there was only a small spattering that remained across her face.

 She had super curly dirty blonde hair that hung down just past her shoulders and proved to be the ultimate annoyance in her life as it never seemed to behave as she wanted it to; like right now. She took one look at the messy bedhead and then quickly threw her hair up into a ponytail although a few exasperating strands escaped and hung lightly around her face. Talia took one last overall glance at her appearance and after deciding she looked presentable enough for someone who had gotten very little sleep, she exited the bathroom.

Sam was sitting down on the bed but stood up upon her reappearance, grinning when he noticed that she was wearing the sweatshirt he had given her. He led the way out of the room as she trudged sleepily behind him and was glad that he didn’t say anything as she was too tired for conversation.

They entered a restaurant and scanned around until they spied where Dean was sitting at a table with newspapers strewn about in front of him. As Talia and Sam approached his table, she saw Dean circle something on a newspaper a couple times until a cute young waitress came over and leaned over his table. They were just close enough to hear her ask with a flirty smile:

“Can I get you anything else?” Dean’s face lit up with a cheeky grin as he chewed on the pen he’d just used but before he could respond Sam got to the table and sat down as he interrupted:

“Just the check, please.”

“Okay.” The waitress’ smile dimmed a little in response as she left and Dean hung his head down in exasperation. If she was fully awake, Talia probably would have found the situation more amusing but as it was she just followed Sam’s example and plopped into a chair.

Dean turned to Sam and protested, “You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while.” He pointed after the retreating back of the waitress, “That’s fun.”

Sam just stared at him with a blank expression and at the lack of response, Dean dropped the subject and handed the newspaper over so Talia and Sam could look at what he’d circled.

“Here, take a look at this, I think I got one.” Dean went on to describe how an eighteen-year-old girl named Sophie Carlton had walked into a lake in Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin but never come back out. He went on to say that the authorities hadn’t found a body in the water and that she was the third person to drown in the lake this year and have the body go missing as well. Dean ended with, “They had a funeral two days ago.”

“A funeral?” Sam asked with confusion.

“Yeah, it’s weird, they buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or whatever.”

“Closer? What closure?” Sam scoffed. “People don’t just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them.” Sam said the last part with extra emphasis as he stared at Dean.

“Something you want to say to me?” Dean challenged and Talia groaned loudly as she rested her head on the table and complained:

“Guys, it’s too early to be fighting. Can we please not do this right now?”

But it was too late and Sam ignored her as he said, “The trail for Dad. It’s getting colder, every day.”

“Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?” Dean questioned.

“I don’t know. Something. Anything.”

Talia finally lifted her head at Sam’s words and looked at him in disbelief as she snapped, “Like what Sam?! Please enlighten us as to what we should be do that we haven’t already. Unless you know something we don’t, then we have nothing left to go on so we have to wait until another lead crops up. You need to stop attacking Dean like it’s his fault that we can’t do anything right now. You are just taking your frustration out on the two of us which is not helping anything and frankly, it’s a little rude.”

She finished her rant to find herself breathing deeply and she hadn’t realized how much she’d needed to get that off her chest. Also, she was definitely awake now.

Sam looked at her a little guilty after she finished her speech and Dean took the chance to add his own piece in:

“I couldn’t have put it better myself. I’m sick of this attitude of yours. You don’t think we want to find Dad just as much as you do?”

“Yeah, I know you guys do, it’s just-”

Dean interrupted him, “I’m the one here that’s been with him every single day for the past two years, while you’ve been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we’re gonna kill everything _bad_ between here and there. Okay?”

Sam gave a look of disgusted agreement but remained silent. Dean was distracted from the conversation as the cute waitress walked past again and his eyes followed her as he checked her out.

“All right, Lake Manitoc.” Talia exclaimed, trying to catch Dean’ attention, but he wasn’t fazed. She resorted to smacking his arm and raising her voice a little to get his attention.

He finally turned to her halfheartedly, “Huh?”

Talia laughed at his hopeless behavior as she inquired, “How far is it?”

 ----------------------------------------

            Talia was leaning her head against the window looking out when they passed a sign that read ‘Welcome to Lake Manitoc, WI.’. In a couple more minutes, they were parking on a dirt road outside the Carlton home to talk with the family of the most recent victim.

            Talia once more chose her favorite spot of hiding behind the large frame of the brothers while Dean knocked on the front door of the home. A young man opened the door and looked at them questioningly while Dean guessed:

            “Will Carlton?”

            “Yeah, that’s right.”

            “I’m Agent Ford.” Dean then gestured to Sam and Talia as he added, “This is Agent Hamill and Agent Fisher. We’re with the US Wildlife Service.” He then procured an ID from his pocket and held it up for a moment.

            Will lead them out to front of the house near the shore of the lake and Talia saw an old man who was the victim’s father. He was just sitting on a bench on the dock, looking out blankly over the water.

            “She was about a hundred yards out.” Will explained as he gestured towards the water, “That’s where she got dragged down.”

            “And you’re sure she didn’t just drown?” Dean asked.

            “Yeah.” Will scoffed, “She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub.”

            “So no splashing? No signs of distress?” Sam questioned next. Talia thought the two boys were sounding very professional with their investigation which she thought was also very ironic since none of them looked anything like government agents, no matter what department they tried to impersonate.

            “No, that’s what I’m telling you.” Will said in frustration.

            “Did you see any shadows in the water?” Talia proposed as she tried to help rule out what could be the cause of the mysterious death. “Maybe some dark shape breached the surface?”

            “No. Again, she was really far out there.”

            Dean chimed in again, “You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?”

            “No, never.” Will looked confused. “Why? What do you guys think’s out there?”

            “We’ll let you know as soon as we do.” Dean replied with finality and then turned to go back to the car. Talia figured they were done with this part of the investigation and followed suit but they both halted when Sam didn’t follow and instead looked at the man on the dock.

            “What about your father? Can we talk to him?”

            The son turned to look over at his father, who hadn’t moved at all during their conversation, before adding delicately, “Look, if you don’t mind, I mean…he didn’t see anything and he’s kind of been through a lot.”

            Talia nodded her head and replied, “We understand.” She then laid a guiding hand on Sam’s arm to indicate that he should let it go and he followed her back to the Impala. As they climbed back in she wondered aloud, “So I guess our next stop should be the local police station right?”           

            “Yep.” Dean agreed as he started the engine.

            When they arrived at the station, they were greeted by a sheriff who, after hearing them introduce themselves, questioned, “Now, I’m sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?”

            “You sure it’s accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister.” Sam announced as they followed the officer to his office in the back of the station.

            “Like what?” the sheriff asked incredulously, while he gestured for them to sit in the chairs across from his desk. There was only two of them though but Dean waved for Talia and Sam to sit while he chose to remain standing behind the two seats.

“There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There’s nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster.” The sheriff continued, disbelief evident in his tone.

“Yeah,” Dean said with a forced laugh, “Right.”

            “Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there.”

            “That’s weird though, I mean…” Talia leaned forward conspiratorially, “that’s the third missing body this year.”

            “I know.” He said with a sigh. “These are people from my town. These are people I care about.

            “I know.” Talia said reassuringly as she could tell the officer was taking their deaths hard.

            “Anyway….” He leaned back in his chair and let out a tired sigh, “All this, it won’t be a problem much longer.”

            “What do you mean?” Dean asked in confusion.

            “Well, the dam, of course.”

            “Of course, the dam.” Dean hurried to smooth over the slip up and Talia and Sam nodded quickly as if to say ‘of course’.  Dean then guessed, “It’s, uh, it sprung a leak.”

            “It’s falling apart, and the feds won’t give us the grant to repair it so they’ve opened the spillway.  In another six months, there won’t be much of a lake. There won’t be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that.”

            “Exactly.” Dean played along as if he’d known that already.

            A light tapping on the door drew Talia’s attention to the doorway to see a young woman stepping into the office. She had long dark brown hair and dark eyes and smiled shyly as she spoke.

            “Sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back later.” Talia and the boys all stood up while the sheriff gestured to the woman and elaborated:

            “Gentlemen, and lady, this is my daughter.”

            Talia noticed that she was rather pretty and sure enough, when she glanced sideways at Dean he was grinning and he stepped forward with an outstretched hand.

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Dean.” The girl accepted his offering and shook hands with him, and Talia noticed that Dean’s wide smile never dropped. She rolled her eyes at his behavior, more amused than annoyed at this point. Trust Dean to always find a cute girl to flirt with, no matter what town they were in.

            “Andrea Barr. Hi.”

            “They’re from the Wildlife Service. About the lake.” Andrea’s father explained.

            Her face dropped at this news and she merely stated, “Oh.”

            At this point, a young boy walked in and stood beside Andrea and Talia assumed it was her son.

            “Oh, hey there. What’s your name?” Dean questioned as he looked down at the boy. The kid didn’t say anything and just quickly turned around and left the room again, immediately followed by his mother.

            “His name is Lucas.” The officer explained. Talia looked at Dean and Sam and saw her own confusion at the weird behavior mirrored in their expressions. She turned back to the sheriff to ask:

            “Is he okay?”

            “My grandson’s been through a lot. We all have.” With that, the officer walked towards the door and declares, “Well, if there’s anything else I can do for you, please let me know.”

            The three of them nodded in acknowledgement and exited his office and as they walked outside they saw Andrea handing Lucas a box of crayons. At this point, Dean spoke up saying:

            “Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?” He looked directly at Andrea as he spoke and she looked up as she replied:

            “Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It’s about two blocks south.”

            “Two-” Dean adopted a thoughtful look on his face before adding, “would you mind showing us?”

            Talia had to cough to cover her laugh at Dean’s shameless flirting. If he had been going for any sort of subtly then he had failed completely. By the laugh she saw Andrea let out, she knew that the woman saw right through Dean’s words.

            “You want me to walk you two blocks?”

            Dean immediately looked serious as he said, “Not if it’s any trouble.”

            “I’m headed that way anyway.” Andrea stated with an amused smile as she looked at Dean and Talia couldn’t believe that Dean’s flirting had actually kind of worked. Then again, she figured, if someone that looked like Dean had tried that on her, it’d probably work on her as well.

            Andrea turned to her father and announced, “I’ll be back to pick up Lucas at three.” She then turned to her son and said softly, “We’ll go to the park, okay, sweetie?” She kissed Lucas, who remained silent, on the head before leading the way out of the station.

            Talia waved at the sheriff as they left and Sam let out a final, quick thank you before they all headed outside.

            Andrea led the way as they walked down the street and Dean tried to initiate a conversation.

            “So, cute kid.”

            “Thanks.” Andrea replied simply with a smile.

            “Kids are the best, huh?” Dean tried again and Talia saw Sam give Dean a strange look at this statement while she merely smiled in amusement. Dean definitely did not like children.

            Andrea simply glanced at Dean after his statement and as she turned back, Talia swore she saw laughter in her eyes but Andrea didn’t say anything. Soon, they were standing in front of a building with a large sign that read ‘Lakefront Motel’.

            Andrea stopped and pointed at the building while explaining, “There it is. Like I said, two blocks.” She turned to face Dean as the group stopped, “Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line.”

            Talia couldn’t contain herself at this statement and burst out laughing. Maybe she was wrong before, Dean’s lines didn’t work as well as she thought. She didn’t quite catch what Andrea said in parting as she was still laughing at Andrea’s previous statement. It took her a moment for the amusement to wear off as she stood straight, wiping imaginary tears from her eyes as she said:

            “Woo, that was a good one.”

            “Oh shut it.” Dean grumbled.

            “Oh come on Dean, really? ‘Kids are the best’? You don’t even like kids.” She said, still smiling in merriment.

            “You’re the one who doesn’t like kids. I love kids.” He replied indignantly.

            “Mhmm.” She said while crossing her arms and stared at Dean challengingly. “Name three children that you even know.”

            Dean paused and looked thoughtful for a moment as he tried to come up with a name but after he remained silent, Talia laughed and then turned to follow Sam who had headed into the motel to get a room. Her smile widened when she heard Dean call out from behind her:

            “I’m thinking!”

            Once they had gotten a room, Talia sprawled out on a bed while Sam sat down at the table and opened his laptop to do some research on the case. Dean walked past Talia and chuckled under his breadth at the sight of her sprawled out on the bed and then set his bag down on the other one to start going through his clothes. As Talia glanced over at Dean, she was amused to find him sniffing his clothes to see if they were still clean.

            Minutes passed by in silence and Talia was beginning to wonder if she might have time to fit in a small nap before they needed to leave again. She closed her eyes for a bit and was just starting to nod off when Sam’s voice broke out:

            “So there’s the three drowning victims this year.”

            “Any before that?” Dean inquired.

            “Uh, yeah. Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it’s picking up its pace.”

            “So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?”

            “This whole lake monster theory, it, it just bugs me.”

            “Why?” Talia spoke up questioningly from where she was still lying down on the bed. She heard Dean walk over to stand behind Sam’s shoulder and look at whatever he had pulled up on the screen.

            “Loch Ness, uh, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing.” He sighed, “Whatever it is out there, no one’s living to talk about it.”

            “Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr.” Dean exclaimed suddenly. “Where have I heard that name before?”

            “Christopher Barr, the victim in May.”

            Talia sat up at this and thought aloud, “Wait, the sheriff’s daughter, Andrea, wasn’t her last name Barr?”

            “Yep, says here that Christopher Barr was Andrea’s husband, Lucas’ father.” Sam affirmed as he looked through some news article on his laptop. “Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued.”

            “Oh my god! You mean that poor kid watched his dad die and then was stranded out there for two hours!?!” Talia exclaimed in horror.

            “Yeah, maybe we have an eyewitness after all.”

            “No wonder that kid was so freaked out.” Dean announced solemnly, “Watching one of your parents die isn’t something you just get over.”

            “Yeah.” Talia affirmed grimly as she considered how the death of both her parents continued to haunt her. Dean looked over at her with a somber expression before she rose up from the bed and they all prepared to go pay Lucas a visit and see if he had seen anything that might help them.


	10. Chapter 10

They drove to a local park, remembering that Andrea had said something about taking Lucas there later. Sure enough, as they were walking Talia spotted Andrea sitting at a bench and followed her line of sight to see Lucas sitting next to a bench not far off. Once again, the child was drawing on a piece of paper with his crayons.

“Can we join you?” Sam inquired as they approached Andrea. She looked up at his words and smiled softly before nodding over to Lucas and stating:

“I’m here with my son.”

Dean looked over at Lucas, “Oh, mind if I say hi?” He walked off without waiting for an answer. Talia shook her head at his behavior and she heard Andrea laugh softly next to her.

 She watched Dean walk over and figured he should probably handle talking to Lucas alone since he always seemed to find a way to make connections with kids. She didn’t know how he did it but he almost always managed to get along well with children and she always joked that it was because he was actually just an overgrown child himself.  She’d bet he’d make an amazing father one day if he ever decided to settle down, stop hunting, and start a family. Of course that wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon, especially if their search for John continued like it had been.

Realizing that she’d been lost in thought, Talia focused back in on the situation around her to see that Sam had sat down next to Andrea while Talia had remained standing, staring over at where Dean had gone to talk to Lucas. She took a seat on the bench next to Sam and tuned into his conversation.

“Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing is not gonna work on me.”

“I don’t think that’s what this is about.” Sam said in defense of his brother. He then began to lightly question Andrea about the recent drownings in town and the death of her husband. Talia sat quietly on his right and didn’t want to interrupt or ruin his progress. He seemed to be getting along well with Andrea.

She looked back over at Dean to see him sitting next to Lucas, with his own piece of paper and crayon and he appeared to be drawing as well as he conversed in what looked like a one sided conversation.

As she sat there quietly, observing each of the Winchester brothers in action, she wondered how they did it. How they always managed to be so charismatic and suave when talking to people and they never appeared to be nervous. They always knew the right thing to say and how to get people to provide the information they were looking for. Not only that, but they never seemed to falter when they were impersonating various officers of the law and always were quick on the draw with a lie ready when needed. 

Next to them, Talia felt extremely inadequate and inept. She always felt awkward around people she didn’t know and hunting constantly required you to interrogate people, which she was horrendous at. She’d never been good at it in the first place, and now that it had been years since she’d been hunting, she was even more insecure about her ability to play the part. She loved the fact that when hunting with the boys meant she could always just hide in the background and let the boys to do all the talking. That way, she wouldn’t ever mess it up and give them away. She wasn’t sure she could ever make it if she tried to go hunting on her own.

“Talia!”

The sound of her name shook her out of her rather depressing pondering and she looked over to see Sam indicating that she should stand up. She followed his line of sight to see that Dean was walking back towards them, obviously done talking to Lucas. She wondered how long she’d zoned out, lost in her own thoughts.

“Lucas hasn’t said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad’s accident.” Andrea spoke out as Dean came up to them, seeming to be continuing the conversation her and Sam had been having while Talia was spacing out.

“Yeah, we heard. Sorry.” Dean responded consolingly.

“What are the doctors saying?” Sam asked gently.

“That it’s a kind of post-traumatic stress.”

“That can’t be easy. For either of you.”

“We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It’s just…” She looked over to where Lucas was still sitting, “when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…” She trailed off into silence.

“Kids are strong. You’d be surprised what they can deal with.” Talia noticed Dean shoot a quick glance in her direction as he said this and she smiled grimly, knowing he was referring to her own experience as kid.

“You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish-”

Before Andrea could continue, Lucas walked up holding a piece of paper in his hands. He kept his head down as he trudged towards Dean and then handed him a hand-drawn picture.

“Thanks. Thanks, Lucas.” Dean said thankfully as he looked down and studied the picture in his hands.  Lucas then turned to return to the bench but as he walked past Talia to do so, she was stunned to feel him carefully place another folded up picture in her hand as he passed. She nearly dropped it but managed to hold onto it in time and stared after the retreating child in shock, wondering why he’d drawn something for her as well. As she turned back to the group, she noticed everyone was still focused on the drawing Lucas had given Dean and no one seemed to have noticed Lucas giving her something as well. Shrugging to herself, she carefully slipped the folded paper into her pants pocket to look at later.

The picture Dean was holding was a crayon drawn depiction of a house.  The longer Talia stared at it the more familiar it seemed and she had a strong gut feeling that she’d seen that house before.  She continued to gaze fixedly at the photo for a couple of moments before it popped into her mind.  She would have sworn that Lucas had drawn the Carlton household they had visited earlier today. She was puzzled as to why Lucas would have chosen to draw that house in particular and was amazed at the accurateness of the drawing now that she recognized it.

At that point, Talia and the boys said their goodbyes to Andrea and then drove back to the motel to work on figuring out what was going on. She was sitting on a bed, studying Lucas’ drawing again and trying to figure out if there was anything strange about it but couldn’t see anything but a simple kid’s drawing. Dean was sitting at the table on Sam’s laptop trying to find anything online that might help them out. The sound of the motel room door opening caused her to lift her head up and she watched Sam walk into the room as he announced:

“So, I think it’s safe to say we can rule out Nessie.”

“What do you mean?” Talia asked with confusion.

“I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead.” Sam explained as he sat down next to Talia with a huff.

“He drowned?” Dean questioned.

“Yep. In the sink.”

“What the hell?” Talia breathed out. “So you’re right this isn’t a creature. We’re dealing with something else.”

“Yeah, but what?”

“I don’t know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water…” Dean spoke up and then paused to consider this for a moment before he proclaimed, “water that comes from the same source.”

“The lake.” Sam confirmed, “Which would explain why it’s upping the body count. The lake is draining. It’ll be dry in a few months.”

“Wait, so that means, whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it’s running out of time.” Talia pronounced before standing up in horror. “And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere.”

Dean looked at her in shock as he voiced what she’d already realized, “This is gonna happen again. Soon.”

“And, we do know one thing for sure.” Sam spoke up, “We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton.”

“Yeah, it took both his kids.” Talia said in confirmation.

“And I’ve been asking around. Lucas’ dad, Chris, was Bill Carlton’s godson,” revealed Sam.

“Well, let’s go pay Mr. Carlton a visit.” Dean announced as he headed towards the door.

They got into the Impala once more to drive back to the Carlton home and see if they could get any useful information out of Bill Carlton and Talia hoped they could figure out why he seemed to be in the middle of all of this.

When they arrived at the Carlton residence, they found Bill Carlton sitting on the dock, staring blankly out over the lake.

“Mr. Carlton?” Sam spoke gently, “We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

As she got closer to the man, Talia saw that his eyes were red like he’d been crying recently and he had an air of resignation and deep sadness about him. He barely moved to acknowledge their presence and Talia could tell that the man was not coping with the death of his children very well.

“We’re from the, the Department-”

“I don’t care who you’re with.” He interrupted before Dean could continue and his voice was scratchy, full of grief and defeated. “I’ve answered enough questions today.”

“Your son said he saw something in that lake.” Sam was not perturbed by the man’s refusal and he rattled out the questions they had. “What about you? You ever see anything out there?” When he received no answer, Sam tried again. “Mr. Carlton, Sophie’s drowning and Will’s death, we think there might be a connection to you or your family.”

“My children are gone. It’s…” He paused as he choked up for a moment. “it’s worse than dying. Go away. Please.”

Talia knew that they weren’t going to get anything more out of the man and she felt awful about bothering the father who had lost both of his children in the span of a couple days. She had no idea what he must be going through and so she lightly tugged on Sam and Dean’s, arm to signal that they should leave the grieving man alone, and headed back towards the car.

As they approached the vehicle, Talia noticed that both Winchesters remained silent and so she inquired, “So, what do you think?”

“I think the poor guy’s been through hell. I also think there’s something he’s not telling us.”

“So now what?” Sam asked as he leaned against the passenger side of the Impala.

“I don’t know.” Dean replied, at a loss.

“Well, I think we should probably go talk to Lucas again and see if Dean can get him talking or drawing again. He might know something that could help us.” Talia explained to the two boys who stared at her in confusion. “What?”

“Why do you think Lucas knows anything?”

“Well,” Talia replied in exasperation, “considering the drawing he gave you was an exact depiction of the Carlton home, I’m thinking he’s probably involved in this somehow or at least he knows something about it.”

“What? The drawing is of the Carlton house.” Dean exclaimed as he rummaged in the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out the picture, holding it in front of him as he compared it to the real life house in front of him. “Well shit, you’re right.”

Sam walked over to see the picture as well and then turned to Talia. “Why didn’t you say something about this earlier?”

Talia shrugged lightly, “I don’t know, you guys never asked and since I recognized it I figured you guys must have as well.”

“Okay Sherlock.” Sam said with a laugh.  “Next time, don’t keep your discoveries to yourself. Now I guess we better go talk to Lucas.”

They drove over to Andrea’s home but when they arrived, she was less than excited to let them talk to Lucas again.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I just need to talk to him.” Dean pleaded, “Just for a few minutes.”

“He won’t say anything. What good’s it gonna do?”

“Andrea,” Sam interjected, “we think more people might get hurt. We think something’s happening out there.”

Andrea turned to him in bewilderment. “My husband, the others, they just drowned. That’s all.”

“If that’s what you really believe, then we’ll go.” Dean spoke in a serious tone. “But if you think there’s even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son.”

Andrea was silent for a while and Talia assumed she was about to kick them out of her home but then she released a sigh and led the three of them to Lucas’ bedroom. Inside, Lucas was sat down on the floor, coloring once again with a group of green army men clustered in front of him.

Dean walked in to crouch down next to Lucas while Talia remained standing in the doorway along with Andrea and Sam.

“Hey, Lucas. You remember me?” Lucas did not answer Dean and he sifted through the pile of drawings Lucas had made and Talia noticed there was two nearly identical drawings of a red bicycle. “You know, I uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again.”

Again there was no response as Lucas continued to work intently on coloring, and Dean reached into his pocket to procure the aforementioned drawing and unfolded it to set it in front of Lucas. “How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen?” Again silence. “Maybe you could nod yes or no for me.” Lucas just kept coloring away in silence.

“You’re scared.” Dean observed. “It’s okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn’t feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom- I know she wanted me to be brave.” Dean paused for a moment.  “I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too.”

Talia stared in shock at Dean’s little speech. She couldn’t believe what he’d said and she looked over at Sam and made eye contact. They looked at each other for a moment in disbelief and she saw that his gaze was filled with sadness and she knew that Sam was just as surprised by what Dean had said as she was.

At the sound of a Lucas dropping his crayon, Talia looked back into the room to see Lucas staring up at Dean before he reached down and grabbed a particular drawing that he then offered up for Dean to take.

Dean grabbed the drawing and peered down at it for a moment and Talia leaned over his shoulder from her position against the doorway to see the image. It was a picture of a white church next to a yellow house with a boy in a blue baseball cap standing next to a red bicycle in front of a wooden fence.

“Thanks, Lucas.” Dean said gratefully.

 ------------------------------------------

            Talia sat in the back seat as they rode away from their visit to Lucas, discussing what his drawing might mean and trying to figure out where to head next.

            “Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died.” Dean thought aloud.

            “There are cases,” Sam considered, “ where going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies.”

            “Whatever’s out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?” At Dean’s words, Sam let out a brief noise of disbelief causing Dean to look sharply at him.  “I mean, it’s only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please.”

            Sam raised his hand in acceptance. “All right, we got another house to find.”

            “Yeah,” Talia leaned forward, “the only problem is there happens to be about a thousand yellow two story houses in this county alone. How are we supposed to find the right one?”

            “See this church?” Sam gestured at the picture for Talia to see and she nodded in response. “I bet there’s less than a thousand of those around here.”

            “Oh, college boy thinks he’s so smart.” Dean said teasingly from the driver’s seat.

            Talia chuckled at the mocking tone Dean adopted and she heard Sam laugh as well. The car then lapsed into silence for a moment as Talia relaxed in the backseat and looked out the window at the scenery passing by.

            “You know, um…” She heard Sam speak up softly from up front, “What you said about Mom...” He trailed off awkwardly and Talia groaned internally. It looked like it was time for another tense family discussion between the Winchesters which she would be forced to witness from the backseat. “You never told me that before.”

            “It’s no big deal.” Dean declared and then said nothing more as if the discussion was over. A moment later he looked over to find Sam still staring over at him and he lamented, “Oh God, we’re not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?”

            Talia laughed again, leave it to Dean to avoid any discussions that might so much as hint at any emotions whatsoever. At least she didn’t have to deal with being the uncomfortable third wheel to another family discussion between the two that either ended in awkward or tense silences.

            A couple minutes later and they arrived at a white church and as they approached it Dean withdrew the drawing once more to compare it to the scene in front of them. Sure enough, Talia could see that the white church, yellow house and fence all matched up. This must be the house they were looking for. She looked up and met eyes with the boys, seeing the same realization in their eyes as they walked towards the house in question.

            They knocked on the door of the yellow house and Talia was a little shocked when an old woman answered the door. Dean introduced them as from the wildlife service and after asking if they could ask a couple of questions, the woman let them inside.

            “We’re sorry to bother you, ma’am but does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle.” As Dean continued speaking, the old women’s eyes filled with sorrow and she looked down sadly.

            “No sir. Not for a very long time.” Seeing the confusion in their eyes, she then invited to follow her as she led them into another room in the house.  It appeared to be a little boy’s room with toys littered around but everything was coated in a fine layer of dust as if it hadn’t been disturbed in years. “Peter’s been gone for thirty-five years now.” The lady sighed deeply as she stared at a small framed picture of Peter that sat on the bedside table. “The police never- I never- had any idea what happened. He just disappeared.”

            Talia was so focused on the woman’s words she almost missed the slight nudge Sam gave her as he gestured slyly to his right with his head. She glanced over to see a pile of army men posed on top of a bookshelf, they were the same kind that Lucas had when they saw him last.

            “Losing him- you know, it’s…it’s worse than dying.” She stated with conviction as she looked solemnly at them. Something about these words rang a bell inside Talia’s mind and she struggled to figure out why they seemed so important. She looked up and saw Dean giving her a knowing look and when she shot a look of befuddlement back he mouthed the words ‘Bill Carlton’ back at her. That’s when Talia’s brain made the connection with a flash, Bill Carlton had said those same exact words when they had talked to him after both his children had died. That had to be significant in some way.

            “Did he disappear from here? I mean, from this house?” Dean inquired gently.

            “He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up.”

            As the woman kept talking, Talia took a moment to scan around the room, looking for anything that might be significant because if this wasn’t where Peter had gone missing, there had to be another reason why Lucas had drawn a picture of this house. Continuing to look around, Talia spotted a small picture of Peter and some other boy stuck into the side of a mirror hanging on the wall. She walked forward and pulled it out to look closer at it before flipping it over and reading aloud for the brothers’ benefit:

            “Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen seventy.” She flashed the picture to the boys before adding, “I have a feeling that we might want to go visit Mr. Carlton again.” Both Sam and Dean nodded at her words and they all excused themselves from the house before heading back to visit the Carlton residence once more.

            As they were riding in the car, Sam summarized the information they’d gathered so far, “Okay, this little boy Peter Sweeney vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow.”

            “Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?” Dean muttered.

            “And Bill, the people he loves, they’re all getting punished.”

            “So what if Bill did something to Peter?” Talia wondered, “What if Bill killed him?”

            “Peter’s spirit would be furious.” Dean reasoned, “It’d want revenge. It’s possible.”

            They pulled up to the Carlton residence just as they finished the conversation and they all exited the car and approached the home. The knocked on the door and when they didn’t receive an answer they walked off the porch and began scanning the property looking for Bill Carlton as Sam shouted his name.

            The sound of a whirring engine reached Talia’s ears and as she strained to locate the origin of the sound, Dean exclaimed, “Hey, check it out.”

            Talia turned to see Bill Carlton heading out onto the lake on a small motorboat which was the source of the noise. Just as she had processed this, Dean and Sam sprang forwards and started sprinting towards the dock. She quickly followed suit and ran after them and she heard Dean shout:

            “Mr. Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!”

            Sam tried as well when it appeared that the man was not going to listen to them, “Mr. Carlton!”

            Despite all their shouting and warning, Bill Carlton ignored them and continued sailing out further onto the lake and they could do nothing but watch in horror as the water rose up in a large swell in front of him.

            The rising water crashed against his boat and flipped it, sending Bill Carlton flying through the air where he smacked into the water and sunk down. The three of them waited panic-stricken on the dock for him to reappear but after minutes it was clear that Bill Carlton was gone. Talia stared in dismay at the location where the man had disappeared into the murky depths of the lake, alarmed at the tragic event that had just taken place.


	11. Chapter 11

            Later in the day, Talia trailed behind Sam and Dean as they walked into the sheriff station once more, being escorted by Andrea’s father Jake. Police had arrived at the lake shortly after Bill Carlton had disappeared and upon discovering the three of them standing there along with a missing man, a very suspicious sheriff had ordered them to head back to the station for questioning.

            As they walked into the building, Talia saw Andrea stand up to face them, “Sam, Dean, Talia, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

            “So now you’re on a first-name basis.” Jake questioned disapprovingly as he led the way towards his daughter. “What are you doing here?”

            “I brought you dinner.”

            “I’m sorry sweetheart,” He apologize while removing his jacket, “I don’t really have the time.”

            Andrea stared at her father dubiously before looking over at Talia and the boys who were standing awkwardly behind him. “I heard about Bill Carlton. Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?”

            Talia looked about innocently as Jake glanced back at the group and as she did so she noticed Lucas fidgeting anxiously in the chair where he was sitting. He had a distressed look on his face and she wondered what was bothering him so much.

            “Right now we don’t know what the truth is.” Jake explained, “But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home.”

            Just as the sheriff finished speaking, Lucas looked up with panic on his face and made a whining noise before sprinting towards Dean and clutching and pulling on his arm desperately while he continued to whine in distress. Dean immediately crouched down and tried to comfort the upset boy.

            “Lucas, hey, what is it?” Lucas didn’t speak but he seemed to be trying to communicate something through sheer will and facial expression. “Lucas, it’s okay. It’s okay. Hey, Lucas, it’s okay.” Dean repeated to the boy as Andrea came up and hugged Lucas from behind as he finally relinquished his tight grip on Dean’s arm.

            Andrea gently pulled Lucas away and the kid calmed down a bit but maintained an expression of fear and distress as she led him out of the building and Lucas didn’t stop looking at Dean until he was led all the way outside.

            Talia looked at where the boy had left in shock. She had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and she had a strong urge to chase after the boy and try to get him to explain the reason for his odd behavior.

            All of the remaining people inside stood frozen for a moment before Jake threw his jacket on a desk and walked into his office. Sam followed soon after and Talia turned to do the same before noticing that Dean was still standing still and staring after Lucas. He had an apprehensive look on his face and she had a feeling that he had the same desire she did to run after the boy but for now they had to clear things up with the sheriff if they could.

            She laid a calming hand on his shoulder and spoke gently, “Come on, Dean.”

            He stirred at her words and then turned slowly to follow her into the office where the arranged themselves in the same manner as their first visit here with Talia and Sam sitting in the two chairs and Dean stood behind them.

            “Okay, just so I’m clear,” Jake began as he faced the three people in his office. “you see…something attack Bill’s boat, sending Bill-who is a very good swimmer by the way-into the drink, and you never saw him again?”

            Talia looked over to meet Sam’s gaze with a thoughtful expression before they both nodded in agreement and turned back to face the sheriff. “Yeah, that about sums it up.” She stated simply.

            “And I’m supposed to believe this, even though I’ve already sonar-swept that entire lake? And what you’re describing is impossible? And you’re not really Wildlife Service?”

            Talia couldn’t hide the shock and fear that on her face that arose in reaction to his last statement. How in the hell had he figured that out, she wondered. It must have been something she did or said that had made him suspicious or given them away, she knew she was bad at this. She should have just kept to her resolution to remain mute during any impersonations. She quickly tried to school her features but the sheriff had already caught the slip up and he continued.

            “That’s right, I checked. Department’s never heard of you two.”

            “See, now, we can explain that.” Dean said hurriedly.

            “Enough. Please.” Jake interrupted before declaring, “The only reason you’re breathing free air is one of Bill’s neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did.” He took a breath before continuing menacingly, “So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton’s disappearance. Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don’t ever darken my doorstep again.” He finished his speech by giving a cold hard stare at the three of them.

            “Door number two sounds good.” Sam replied quickly and Talia nodded rapidly in agreement.

            “That’s the one I’d pick.” The sheriff announced.

            After that intimidating speech, the three left the office in a hurry and headed down the street to the motel to gather their belongings. They hurriedly packed everything together and then threw their stuff in the Impala and hit the road just as night fell upon the city.

Talia was zoning out as she stared out the window in the back when she heard Sam speak up. “Green.” She looked up to see that they were stopped at an intersection and as Sam had pointed out, the light was green but they were not moving. She leaned forward to look at Dean in the driver’s seat and saw him staring straight ahead looking heavy in thought as indecision crossing his features.

            “What?” He answered suddenly.

            “The light Dean,” Talia replied slowly, “it’s green.”

            Dean shook his head before pressing down on the gas and the Impala accelerated smoothly as they turned right and continued down the street.

            “Uh,” Sam interjected cautiously, “the interstate’s the other way.”

            Dean simply continued staring straight ahead as he stated with determination in his voice, “I know.”

            Talia knew then that the indecision on Dean’s face had been him struggling about whether or not they could really leave the town. She had been having similar doubts about whether or not this case was really over and if they could really leave now in good conscious.

            “But Dean, this job, I think it’s over.” Sam reasoned.

            “I’m not so sure, Sam. Something tells me that there is more to this that we don’t know and I have a feeling that we shouldn’t be leaving yet.” Talia elaborated.

            “If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter’s spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest.” Sam said with doubt as he looked back at Talia.

            “All right,” Dean spoke up, “so what if we take off and this thing isn’t done? You know, what if Talia’s right and we’ve missed something? What if more people get hurt?”

            “But why would you think that?” Sam questioned in confusion.

            “Because Lucas was really scared.” Dean declared.

            “That’s what this is about?” Sam said with amusement in his voice.

            “I just don’t want to leave this town until I know the kid’s okay.” Dean announced firmly.

            Sam stared at Dean with disbelief, “Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?”

            Talia snorted in amusement at Sam’s statement while Dean just peered over at Sam in silence for a moment before stating solemnly, “Shut up.”

            When they got closer to town, the feeling of dread that had been bothering her for a while got worse and Talia had a strong feeling that something bad was about to happen.

            “So, where should we go?” Sam asked.

            “Andrea’s house.” Talia stated quickly, surprising even herself but as soon as she said it she felt that it was the right place to go.

            Dean nodded and added, “Yeah, I want to talk to Lucas and see if I can figure out why he was freaking out earlier.”

            Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the house in the middle of the night and as they stood outside the front door, Sam questioned, “Are you sure about this? It’s pretty late guys.”

            Talia simply nodded strongly. The feeling of dread in her stomach that had been making her slightly nauseous had increased and something was telling her that this was the place they needed to be.

            Dean pressed down on the doorbell and they could hear the ringing echo through the house. Seconds later, the door was pulled open quickly to reveal a panting and frantic Lucas standing inside.

            “Lucas? Lucas!” Dean shouted and Lucas immediately turned around and began sprinting through the house. Talia followed Dean and Sam as they raced after the boy who led them up the stairs that had water rushing down them. He stopped in front of a door that had water streaming underneath it from inside and began pounding on the door.

            Dean quickly grabbed Lucas and passed him off to Sam who held him back as Dean marched towards the door and kicked it open. From behind Dean, Talia could see a bathtub that was overflowing with murky dark water, lake water she realized and then she knew that Andrea was somewhere inside that tub.

            Sam jumped into the room and running to the tub, he reached inside and began tugging on Andrea, trying to get her out of the tub. Talia stood in the hallway in horror as she watched Sam struggle and groan with the effort before it became apparent that he was not winning the battle. She quickly turned to Dean, who was still holding Lucas and trying to shield him from the sight while also trying to keep an eye on Sam. She rushed over and shouted to Dean:

            “Go Dean! Sam needs your help, I got Lucas!” He didn’t hesitate and released the boy before running over to the tub to help Sam pull Andrea out. Talia reached down and wrapped her arms around Lucas before he could run into the room as she tried to both restrain and comfort him at the same time.

            She turned to look back into the bathroom to see Dean and Sam both grunting from the effort as they slowly but surely began to pull Andrea from the tub. She almost seemed to go completely under again before the two brothers strained together at the same time and ripped her free from the black water. The three of them collapsed onto the floor panting as Andrea curled up into a ball on the floor, coughing up water.

            Lucas began struggling anew in Talia’s arms as he saw his mother lying on the floor but Talia held him back for a bit longer as she gave Andrea some time to recover. Finally, when she had stopped coughing up water and her breathing was somewhat normal, Talia released Lucas who sprinted towards his mom and the two collided in a warm embrace as Lucas cried into his mother’s shoulder.

            Talia quickly noticed that Andrea was indeed naked and she looked around the bathroom in search of a towel for the woman to cover up with. She found one hanging on the wall and walked over to pull it down before drape it gently on Andrea who smiled gratefully at her.

            Talia and the boys decided to spend the evening there and Andrea was grateful for their reassuring presence. She was rather shaken up from the ordeal and Talia had led her to her room and given her another towel to dry off with and helped her change into some comfortable clothes.

            Lucas refused to let his mother out of his sight and Dean had stayed with him to comfort him and keep him distracted so Andrea could have some space alone. They spent the night downstairs in the living room as no one wanted to be near the bathroom and Andrea ended up finally passing out form sheer exhaustion on the couch with Lucas curled up next to her in the wee hours of the morning.

            Talia, Sam and Dean had walked around the house a couple of times to insure that everything else was okay but as the night went on and the adrenaline wore off, the eventually ended up sitting squeezed together on the other couch with Talia in the middle. The spent awhile just sitting together in silence, none of them feeling it necessary to talk.

            After a while, the day started to catch up to her and Talia began yawning widely as she rested her head against the back of the couch. She felt herself slowly begin nodding off before her head slipped down and startled her awake. Noticing her problem, Sam reached for a pillow before lying it on his lap and patting it invitingly for her. She smiled gratefully at him and rearranged herself on the couch to rest her head on Sam’s lap.

             She could have curled her legs to fit in the middle of the couch but instead, she deliberately stretched them out to reach across and lay on Dean’s lap. He looked over at her but she quickly shut her eyes and feigned sleep which just made him shove her legs off the couch. She smirked slightly before immediately returning them and when she cracked one eye open to peer up at him she saw him roll his eyes but the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement and he left her legs there. She rejoiced internally at her victory before exhaustion once more set in and she soon fell asleep.

            In her dreams, she found herself floating mysteriously in darkness and it took her a moment to realize that she was in water that was too murky to see through. She drifted forwards aimlessly and as she moved forward it began to get gradually lighter until she began to make out a pair of legs kicking in the water in front of her. She swept forward curiously and as she drew nearer she felt a sudden murderous desire to bring that person down into the water with her. She swiftly closed in on the person and latched onto them, pulling them maliciously into the deep and dragging them down far below the surface.

            As soon as she made contact with the person however, she suddenly became the person being pulled under and she began struggling against the force pulling her down. However, it was a losing battle and she kept getting dragged further and further into the depths of the murky water until she was totally surrounded by darkness and her lungs burned for air. She fought to hold her breath longer and get free but eventually her body gave in and she opened her mouth to suck in a breath only to get a mouthful of water.

            It was at this exact moment that she woke with a start, gasping for air and struggling to get free from the grip on her legs. It took her a couple of moments to realize that she was actually breathing in air and the grip on her legs was actually a blanket that had gotten tangled around her legs in her struggles.

            “Talia, hey, are you okay?” Sam exclaimed softly and Talia looked over to see that she had still been sleeping with her head on his lap and had startled him with her sudden movement. She also noticed that Dean was no longer sitting at the end of the couch before she turned to Sam and reassured him:

            “Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a bad dream.”

            Sam smiled slightly in understanding before nodding and standing up to stretch his legs. Talia looked out the window to see that although it was getting lighter out, the sun still hadn’t risen and she must not have been asleep for very long. She sat up against the couch and tried to recall all the details of her dream but as she continued to wake up fully, the memories were quickly slipping away from her.

            Her contemplation was interrupted by stirrings on the other couch and she saw that Andrea and Lucas were both waking up.  She pointed this out to Sam before getting up to find Dean and let him know that they were all awake.

            Later in the morning as the first rays of light from the rising sun peaked over the horizon, Andrea was sitting hunched over on the couch while Talia and Sam sat next to her and tried to get her to tell them about what she’d experienced.

            “Can you tell me?” Sam asked gently of the woman who hadn’t spoken a word since the night before.

            “No.” Andrea replied softly. “It doesn’t make any sense.” Her voice broke and she began to cry, “I’m going crazy.” She hid her face in her hands as she sobbed.

            Talia rubbed her hand soothingly on the woman’s back as she reassured her, “No, you’re not going crazy. Just tell us what happened. Everything.”

            Andrea paused for a moment and seemed to gather herself before she answered. “I heard…I thought I heard…there was this voice.”

            “What did it say?” Sam inquired in a whisper.

            “It said…it said ‘come play with me’.” Andrea sobbed once more, “What’s happening?”

            Suddenly, Dean walked hurriedly into the room carrying an old scrapbook that he placed down in front of Andrea as he pointed at a picture of a group of young boys all wearing matching uniforms. “Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?”

            “What?” Andrea looked up at him for a moment in shock before continuing, “Um, um, no. I mean, except that’s my dad right there.” She pointed to him in a couple of photos. “He must have been about twelve in these pictures.”

            As Talia looked closer at one of the pictures that Andrea had identified her dad in, she recognized Peter Sweeney in the same photo. That meant that Andrea’s dad and Bill Carlton were both linked to Peter in some way.

            “Chris Barr’s drowning,” Dean explained, “The connection wasn’t to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the Sheriff.”

            “Bill _and_ the Sheriff, they were both involved with Peter.” Sam said with a sudden realization.

            “What about Chris?” Andrea spoke up, “My dad-what are you talking about?”

            “Lucas?” Dean spoke up suddenly and Talia looked over to see they boy staring out of the window as Dean questioned again, “Lucas, what is it?”

            Lucas didn’t say a word and silently opened the door before heading outside. Talia looked at Dean in confusion before the group all got up to follow the child as he walked into the woods behind the home. He didn’t walk very far before he stopped over a patch of mossy covered ground and stared down at it for a moment before he looked pointedly up at Dean. Dean returned his gaze for a moment before declaring to Andrea:

            “You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?” At his words, Andrea grabbed Lucas and pulled him back towards the home.  Sam stayed at the location while Talia and Dean went back to the Impala to fetch some shovels. When they returned, Talia tossed the shovel she was holding to Sam and the two boys got to work on digging down at the spot that Lucas had stopped at.

            They hadn’t been digging for very long when Sam’s shovel struck something with a loud clang. Dean and Sam both instantly dropped their shovels and Talia bent down with them to help uncover what they’d found with her hands. As they slowly pulled the dirt away, they unearthed a red bicycle that had been buried underground and was rusted and caked in dirt.

            “Peter’s bike.” Sam’s words confirmed what Talia had been thinking and just as she opened her mouth to question how the bike had gotten here, a voice spoke up from behind the three of them.

            “Who are you?” The question was promptly followed by the sound of a gun cocking and Talia and the boys all turned around very slowly towards the source of the noise. Talia froze in fear at the sight before her. Standing not more than 15 feet behind them was Jake, who stood there with his pistol aimed at them and an angry expression on his face.

            “Put the gun down, Jake.” Sam advised gently.

            “How did you know that was there?” The sheriff asked instead of listening to Sam.

            “What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike?” Dean inquired gruffly. “You can’t bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried.”

            “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Jake denied.

            “You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That’s what the hell I’m talking about.”

            Abruptly, Andrea came running up from the house as she approached her father and yelled, “Dad!”

            “And now you got on seriously pissed-off spirit.” Dean finished.

            “It’s gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It’s gonna drown them. And it’s gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter’s mom felt. And then, after that, it’s gonna take you, and it’s not gonna stop until it does.” Sam explained grimly to Jake, trying to get him to understand.

            “Yeah, and how do you know that?”

            “Because that’s exactly what it did to Bill Carlton.” Sam announced definitively.

            “Listen to yourselves, all of you. You’re insane.” Jake said defiantly.

            Talia’s ire rose at this man’s stubbornness and she knew his obstinance was putting no only himself in danger but Andrea and Lucas in danger as well and she couldn’t allow that. “I don’t really give a rat’s ass what you think of us.” She snapped, “But if we’re gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now please tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn’t just let him go in the lake.”

            Talia stared at Jake with a hard expression on her face as he continued to point his pistol at them. Thankfully, Andrea intervened and spoke up with fear in her voice, “Dad, is any of this true?”

            “No. Don’t listen to them. They’re liars and they’re dangerous.”

            “Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me.” Slowly, and quite reluctantly, Jake turned his head to face his daughter he was staring at him with tears gathering in her eyes. “Tell me you-you didn’t kill anyone.” At her words, Jake immediately broke eye contact and looked away, giving all the answer that Andrea needed. “Oh my god.” She gasped in horror.

            “Bill and I were at the lake.  Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough.” Jake paused for a moment nervously.  “We were holding his head under the water. We didn’t mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank.”

            Talia exchanged glances with the brothers as she sighed internally, of course it couldn’t be that easy.

            “Oh, Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake.” Jake tried to explain in a pleading tone.  “But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost? It’s not rational.”

            Andrea said nothing in reply and her expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief.

            “All right, listen to me, all of you.” Dean interjected firmly. “We need to get you away from this lake, as far as we can, right now.”

            Just as he finished speaking, Andrea looked to her left and let out a gasp. Talia turned to see Lucas standing on the dock of the lake and they all immediately began racing over towards him.

            “Lucas!” Jake shouted as he sprinted forward and led the entire group as they approached the dock.

            “Lucas!” Dean yelled next from just behind Jake.

            “Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!” Andrea added in a frantic voice.

            Talia was at the back of the group but she could just make out Lucas crouched down at the end of the dock. He looked like he was stretching his hand out towards the water and straining to reach something without falling in. Just as the group reached the edge of the woods a hand reached out and pulled Lucas into the water.

            Talia put on a new burst of speed as she raced towards the dock and just as hit the edge of it, she passed Jake who had skidded to a halt with a gasp and stood frozen with his mouth hanging open. She looked into the water to see that Peter’s head was just visible sticking out of the water but she didn’t pay much attention to it as she continued past him to the very end of the dock.

            Ahead of her, Talia saw Dean and Sam dive into the water as soon as they reached the end of the dock and Andrea began to shrug off her jacket as if she planned to jump in as well. However, Talia reached her before she could do anything and commanded her, “Andrea, stay here!”

            “No!” Andrea protested as she tried to push Talia away, “Lucas!”

            “We’ll get him! Just stay on the dock!” Talia implored her before she walked towards the end of dock and dived straight into the water, grateful that she’d left her sweatshirt in the car earlier, to help Dean and Sam save Lucas. She dived down through the murky water and looked everywhere she could for Lucas while also sweeping her hands back and forth in case she brushed against him.

            She had no luck and as her lungs began to burn for air she kicked towards the surface to get some air. She resurfaced and looked around to see both Dean and Sam had surfaced again as well and Dean called out:

            “Sam? Talia?” Both of them shook their heads to signify they hadn’t found Lucas yet before the three of them all took deep breaths and dived down once more.  Talia began searching desperately for Lucas but as she got deeper and deeper, the water soon got so dark that she couldn’t see anything at all around her and she immediately froze at the familiar situation, this was exactly like the dream she had the night before.

            Fear shot through her body like electricity and her heart leapt into her throat when she felt something wrap around her ankle tightly. She began thrashing around to free herself and irrationally she opened her mouth to scream which only caused water to flood into her lungs, choking her.

            She tried to kick towards the surface and was shocked and relieved to discover that whatever was wrapped around her ankle was not actually dragging her down. She just managed make it back to the surface as she coughed up all the water in her lungs. She struggled to keep herself afloat while also purging her lungs of water so she could breathe properly.

            As she was treading water, Dean and Sam also resurfaced and once they saw her struggling Dean shouted, “Talia, you okay?”

            She waved her hand at him, not quite able to speak yet, to assure him that she was fine and that he should continue to look for Lucas. He and Sam both quickly dived down once again and while she tried to recover to join the search once more, she heard Jake call out:

            “Peter, if you can hear me…please, Peter, I’m sorry. I’m so-I’m so sorry.”

            Talia turned back towards the shore to see Jake was wading into the water as quick as he could and calling out to Peter to try and save his grandson.

            “Daddy, no!” Andrea cried out.

            “Peter. Lucas-he’s, he’s just a little boy. Please, it’s not his fault, it’s mine. Please take me.”

            Dean and Sam came up for air once more and once they too saw Jake, Dean cried out, “Jake, no!”

            Talia, who was the closest to Jake began swimming over furiously, trying to get to Jake before Peter could.

            “Just let it be over!” Talia swam as fast as she could but just before she could reach him, Jake was dragged down into the lake far faster than she could have kept up with.

            “Daddy! Daddy! No!”  Andrea yelled out in horror.

            Dean and Sam entered the murky depths once more and Talia wanted to join them but she was barely keeping herself afloat at this point; her earlier struggles had depleted her strengths. She dived just under the surface and began to try and look for the sheriff but as she started going deeper her muscles began to fail her and she was forced to give up. The last thing the boys needed was another body to search for so she surfaced and paddled tiredly towards the dock. As she neared it, Sam surfaced again and Andrea looked at him desperately to see if he’d found Lucas or Jake but he shook his head in despair.

            “NO!” Andrea screamed out in sheer pain and Talia hurried to pull herself up onto the dock in case she had to stop Andrea from jumping in again. However, in another three seconds, Dean came bursting through the surface of the water, clasping an unconscious Lucas to his chest. Talia was overjoyed to see the young boy and couldn’t believe that Dean had actually found him as she flopped down on top of the dock in exhaustion.

 ------------------------------------------------------------

Talia walked silently with her head down and her duffle bag thrown over her shoulder as she and the boys walked towards the Impala.  She was struggling with a variety of thoughts that were racing through her head as she reviewed the day’s events. They, or Dean rather, had saved Lucas from a watery grave but they had lost Jake to Peter’s revenge.

Her mind kept going over everything she’d done on the lake that morning and she couldn’t help but feel like she should have been able to save Jake. She hadn’t been any help at all in the situation and had nearly drowned herself thanks to the fear a silly bad dream had caused her. When she’d gathered her breath on the dock, she’d remembered the thing that had wrapped around her leg near the bottom of the lake and looking down, she’d found a plant wrapped around her ankle. She had nearly died because a free floating plant that had managed to wrap itself around her ankle and she couldn’t believe how ridiculous that was.

Not only that, but because of the exhaustion due to her near-drowning, she hadn’t been able to swim quick enough to get to Jake before he was pulled down and she felt responsible for his death. While she’d been tired and afraid, Sam and Dean had been saving Lucas’ life and she felt like she had been utterly useless, like she was the third wheel to their perfect hunting duo. As she’d been stirring over these thoughts, along with her depressing thoughts from earlier when she’d zoned out while Sam talked to Andrea in the park, she began to have doubts about her abilities as a hunter in general. She’d been so excited to get back into hunting that she’d never wondered if she was fit for it or if she could even do it anymore after taking such a long break. 

She’d been considering all this in her head as she and the boys packed up their stuff to leave town once more, this time for good, and she’d been too busy with her own thoughts to notice that Dean had been pretty quiet as well. This was brought to her attention as they through their stuff into the back of the car and she heard Sam reassure Dean:

“Look, we’re not gonna save everybody.”

Talia looked over to see that Dean had a pensive and brooding look on his face as he fiddled with the car keys and she realized that Dean was probably blaming himself for Jake’s death as well.

“I know.” Dean said simply in response to Sam and Talia opened her mouth to inform Dean that it was actually her fault but before she could say anything, a familiar voice called out:

“Talia, Sam, Dean.”

Talia turned to see Andrea walking over with Lucas by her side. The boys faced her as well as Dean called out a greeting.

“We’re glad we caught you. We just, um,” She looked down at Lucas, “we made you lunch for the road.”

Talia then noticed that Lucas was holding a tray of sandwiches for them and she was struck by the kind gesture.

“Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself.” Andrea explained happily and at this moment Lucas looked up at his mom and in a momentous occasion, he actually asked aloud:

“Can I give it to them now?”

“Of course.” Andrea replied while Talia and the boys all exchanged happy smiles, glad to see that the young boy was talking once more and hopefully going to be just fine despite everything that he had experienced.

“Come on, Lucas. Let’s load this into the car.” Dean declared while he grabbed the tray and led Lucas to the Impala and Talia watched them go with a small smile on her face.

“How’re you holding up?” Sam inquired to Andrea.

She sighed before answering, “It’s just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?”

Talia nodded understandingly before she spoke. “Andrea, I’m so sorry-”

Andrea shook her head before she could continue and said, “You saved my son. I can’t ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that.”

After that, the three of them walked over to the Impala where Dean and Lucas were standing and Andrea leaned up to kiss Dean. “Thank you.”

Dean stared at her for a minute and seemed to be in thought before he scratched the back of his head and walked around the back of the car to the driver’s side as he called out, “Talia, Sam, move your asses. We’re gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road.”

Talia smiled slightly at his behavior before she crawled into the back of the car. Andrea and Lucas waved at them as they pulled away and Talia waved back until they were out of sight.

As she made herself comfortable in the back seat she picked up her sweatshirt which was still laying where she’d tossed it in the day before and as she lifted it up, a piece of paper fell out. Confused, she picked it up and wondered when she had stuck a piece of paper in her pocket, then she suddenly remembered the paper that Lucas had slyly given to her in the park. She’d forgotten about it until now.

She unfolded the paper to discover that it was a crayon drawing of a group of five stick figures all holding hands that had the words ‘My Family’ written above them. She was extremely confused as she stared at the drawing and puzzled over why Lucas would give her a picture he’d drawn of his family until she noticed the name signed in the corner; written hastily in the bottom right corner of the page was the name ‘Dean’. It was Dean’s drawing.

 She looked it over once more and counted the people again because Dean’s family only had four people in it. Then she noticed the person on the far right had been drawn with distinctive curly hair and she smiled widely at the drawing.  Feeling very touched by the significance of the picture she gently folded it up once more and carefully slid it into the top of her bag.


	12. Chapter 12

            The sensation of bolting upright in bed, panting heavily as she awoke from another nightmare was an all too familiar feeling for Talia.  As she stared into the darkness in front of her, struggling to remember the details of her dream, images of black smoke swirling and the sensation of plummeting through the air swarmed in her brain. Unfortunately, she was also very familiar with not remembering her nightmares after waking up so when nothing else popped into her head she let out a resigned sigh.

            As she began to get her breathing down to normal she glanced over to make out the shape of Dean lying next to her. She was grateful to know that she hadn’t woken him up. Given his previous outbursts about her lack of sleep she did not want him to know that her insomnia was persistent and getting worse. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel guilty for something he couldn’t control and wasn’t his fault in the first place.

            She continued to sit in bed for a few minutes as she assessed whether or not she was up for trying to get some sleep or if she was going to revert to one of the many habits she’d developed for avoiding sleep when the nightmares became too much for her mind to handle. Before she could come to a decision, she heard a gasping noise from the bed next to her.

            Glancing over in alarm, she saw a dark shape rise up from the bed and heard Sam breathing heavily.  Instantly worried for the man, she slid silently out from under the covers and approached the empty side of his bead cautiously, making sure not to sneak up on him.

            When he heard her approach, he looked over at her and she smiled wanly at him before hopping up to sit cross legged next to him. She rubbed a hand soothingly on his back as he continued to recover from what she assumed was a bad dream about Jess. While she was so used to her affliction that it didn’t bother her much, watching Sam struggle through a similar problem was painful for her to witness and she wished she could do something about it. However, she was just as helpless to help him as she was to deal with her own problem. 

            From experience, she knew that there was nothing she could say to help and that her quiet presence would be comfort enough for him as he recovered. The two of them sat there in the darkness in silence for what seemed to be an eternity before Sam picked up the TV remote from the nightstand beside him and turned on the TV without a word to Talia.

            Accepting that Sam wasn’t in the mood to talk, she settled herself more comfortably on the bed and leaned back next to Sam as the two of them stared blankly at some mindless television in an attempt to seek refuge from the darkness haunting their thoughts. As the flashing lights of many colors continued to bounce around the motel room, Talia and Sam made a silent pact to keep each other from falling asleep. Anytime one of them seemed to start nodding off, the other would gently nudge them until they sat upright once more.

            They passed the rest of the night in this manner and at around 5:15 in the morning as the sky began to show signs of brightening, Sam stood up wearily and looked down at Talia as he mouthed ‘coffee’ silently and pointed to the door. Talia nodded in assent and shut the TV off before grabbing some clothes from her bag and going into the bathroom to change.

            As quietly as possible, lest they awaken Dean, the two of them made their escape from the motel room and made their way carefully through the still dark morning.  They ambled forward side by side in silence and Talia could feel her eyes were puffy with lack of sleep and spending most of the evening staring at the television. She blinked hard a couple of times to relieve the burning before she looked at Sam slyly from the corner of her eye and noticed the sleep deprivation was apparent in his eyes as well. 

            Trying to inject some humor into the situation she spoke quietly, “We make quite the pair, don’t we?” She laughed humorlessly as she went on, “Hell, between the two of us, we might actually make a fully functioning human being.”

            She was rewarded by seeing the corner of Sam’s mouth lift in amusement and he snorted lightly at her words. At this point, they reached a small convenience store and Sam reached forward to hold the door open for her. Inspired by her previous success and knowing they both needed a little light in their day, she adopted the voice of an old lady:

            “Why thank you, young man. You’re such a gentleman to open the door for an old lady such as me. You don’t see enough of that kind of chivalry these days.” She shook her fist at him towards the end as if he was to blame for this decline and she hunched her back over a little as she hobbled slowly through the doorway, taking her sweet time as she made Sam continue to stand there holding the door.

            Her efforts at levity were this time rewarded with a loud chuckle from Sam as he shook his head at her slow progress. As she entered the store, she was delighted to see a display of walking canes hanging near the door and she seized upon one swiftly as she turned around and smacked Sam with it lightly.

            “Don’t you dare laugh at me, boy!” She shouted as she continued to rain blows upon him with the cane. “At my age, I’ve earned the right to walk as slow as I damn well please.”

            At this point, Sam was full on laughing as he tried to avoid her swings and when he finally grabbed a hold of the cane and wrenched it from her grasp, he had a wide smile on his face as he looked down at her and held out his arm and exclaimed, “Alright Grandma, let’s get some coffee shall we?”

            “Sounds wonderful boy-o.” She replied with a cackle as she clutched onto his proffered arm and leaned onto him as he guided her ‘frail’ body towards the coffee machine in the back. As they made their slow progress through the store, she saw the store clerk looking strangely at them but she merely ignored him, too happy to see Sam in a good mood.

            They exited the store ten minutes later, Talia no longer playing the role of an aged woman as she clutched a warm cup and Sam held two cups in his hands. She normally wasn’t a huge fan of drinking coffee but she was too exhausted to even dream of trying to function today without the help of some caffeine.  It had taken her ages to find the right combination of creamer and sugar that lightened the strong taste of the coffee to a bearable amount and she’d gotten further laughter from Sam when she first tried a sip of the plain black coffee and nearly spit it back out. After some time, she’d discovered the right mixture, and after filling up a cup for Dean as well, they headed back to the motel room.

            Approaching the door to their room, Talia went to open it slowly as to not disturb the sleeping Winchester inside but Sam waved her back and declared mischievously, “No wait. Let me go. I’ll storm in wildly and wake Dean up. It’s still super early in the morning and he’s definitely still sleeping.”

            Talia laughed at Sam’s idea and let him step in front of her, glad to see that she’d successfully cheered Sam up, and herself in the process. She was content to wait outside in the early morning light as she didn’t want to be there when Dean was woken up at this early hour in the morning.

            Sam opened the door and paused for a moment in the doorway before slamming it shut behind him and calling out, “Morning, sunshine.”

            Talia took another sip of her drink as she heard mumbled voices inside. After waiting a moment or two longer she strode into the room after Sam and as she walked into the room she heard Dean call out:

            “Liar. ‘Cause I was up at three, and you and Talia were watching a George Foreman infomercial.”

            “Shit.” Talia breathed out as she stopped herself abruptly before she’d rounded the corner into view. She thought they’d gotten away with being up all night and Dean not noticing but once again she’d underestimated his ability to keep an eye on the two of them.

            “Hey, what can I say?” Sam commented in a forced light tone, “It’s riveting TV.”

            Talia was extremely frustrated by the situation, she’d just managed to cheer Sam up and get his mind off of things and while she appreciated Dean’s concern, he was ruining her morning’s work. That didn’t mean she was willing to announce her presence and get her part of the upcoming lecture as well and so she remained hidden in hopes that Dean had been too focused on Sam to notice her enter the room.

            “When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep?” Dean inquired.

            “I don’t know, a little while, I guess. It’s not a big deal.” Sam played it off.

            “Yeah, it is.” Dean argued.

            “Look, I appreciate your concern-”

            “Oh, I’m not concerned about you.” Dean interrupted sarcastically, “It’s your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp.” The room was silent for a moment as Talia strained her ears and did her best to keep as quiet as possible as Dean continued in a kinder tone, “Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?”

            There was another moment of silence before Talia heard the creak of bed springs before Sam spoke up again, “Yeah. But it’s not just her. It’s everything. I just forgot, you know? This job.” He paused, “Man, it gets to you.”

            “You can’t let it. You can’t bring it home like that.” Dean stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world and Talia wished it was that easy; it used to be just that easy for her, when she was younger. She was just like Dean with the ability to go hunting for monsters and not let it affect her when she was done. That was back when the only nightmares she had to deal with were ones about her parent’s death and those had been much easier to manage then the menagerie of different horrors that haunted her now. This was a whole new level that she hadn’t ever faced before and it left her feeling weak and ill prepared as she longed for the days when hunting had seemed so simple.

            Tuning back into the conversation she was eavesdropping, she heard Sam ask with disbelief, “So, what? All this it never keeps you up at night?” There was a pause during which Talia tried to reposition herself from where she was squatting awkwardly as her legs were beginning to burn from the strain but she dared not make too much noise.

            “Never?” Sam inquired incredulously, “You’re never afraid?”

            “No, not really.”

            Sam scoffed in response and Talia heard more shuffling noise along with the metallic scuffing sound of a blade being drawn and she risked a quick peek around the corner to see Sam drawing the knife that Dean had stashed under his pillow.

            “That’s not fear. That is a precaution.” Dean replied defensively.

            “All right, whatever.” Sam stated, “I’m too tired to argue.”

            Talia peeked around the corner and saw Sam getting up to go into the bathroom and she figured she could just open the motel room behind her quickly and then shut it again and pretend like she just got into the room.

            Just as she began to sneak back towards the door to execute her plan, Dean’s voice called out with humor, “Come on, Talia. You can come out now. I know you’re hiding there.”

            “Aw dammit.” Talia exclaimed in disappointment as she stood up, glad to no longer be squatting down, and rounded the corner sheepishly, “And here I thought I was being sneaky.”

            Dean laughed lightly at her before sobering up and staring at her with concern and declaring “Now, It’s time we had that talk about how _fine_ you actually are. Now spill.”

            Talia let out a long sigh as she sat down in the spot that Sam had just vacated across from Dean. She stared pointedly down at the coffee cup she gripped tightly in her hands and didn’t make eye contact with Dean as she mumbled, “I just couldn’t sleep well last night and since Sam was up anyways I figured I’d just keep him company.  Besides, I’ve got it covered. I can handle myself.”

            It was Dean’s turn to let out a sigh as he leaned forward and raised her chin up with his left hand so she was forced to meet his gaze while he gently touched the bags under her eyes and said, “These don’t look like you’ve got it covered. Why won’t you talk to me and let me help you?”

            Talia turned her head away again, gently tugging her head out of his grasp as she suddenly became uncomfortable with his proximity. “It’s really nothing Dean, I get that you want to help but they are _my_ nightmares and there’s nothing you can do to help with that.”

            “Are they the same ones as always?” Dean asked gently, “About your parents?”

            Talia shrugged as she finally turned to face him again, “Yeah, and…” She trailed off for a moment, “some new ones as well.” She continued before Dean could ask what she meant. “Ever since I’ve been hunting with you and Sam again they started becoming more strange and focused more on our hunts and the monsters we’ve dealt with so far.”

            “But they’ve never kept you up like this before. Sam, I get, he’s been through a lot. But you are used to this and you seemed to have them so under control last time.”

            “Yeah, well whatever changed, it’s a lot worse now. They make the years I spent staying up all night in my house look like a cake walk.” Talia froze as she realized what she had just let slip out.

            Dean stared sharply at her as he demanded, “What do you mean?”

            “Um…nothing.” Talia scrambled to cover up her mistake as she slowly slid backwards on the bed to get away from Dean’s prying gaze. “It’s just…I-”

            “Talia.” Dean’s voice was rising dangerously in anger but Talia thought she had an escape when Sam came out of the bathroom as she bolted up from the bed to stand on the other side, farther away from Dean’s growing anger.

Sam took in the situation before him and then asked cautiously, “Uh, guys. What’s going on?”

            “Talia, why don’t you tell Sam what’s going on.” Dean declared flatly as he continued to fix his gaze on her.

            “Well…” She began reluctantly as she rubbed the back of her neck with hesitation and sought anyway to avoid the scenario she’d accidentally caused.  Her nightmares had been one of the main reasons why John had left her in the house and why Dean hadn’t been completely against it. They’d gotten pretty bad and when John mentioned that he thought giving her a break from hunting might help them Dean had been all for it, despite not wanting to be left alone or to leave her alone.  “I was just telling Dean about my sleeping troubles and I may have, possibly, somehow, forgotten to mention that the nightmares continued to trouble me still while I was living on my own.”

            Silence followed her words and after a moment she slowly raised her eyes to meet the stunned gaze of both brothers. Sam was the first to speak.

            “What exactly does that mean?”

            “Nothing really.” Talia hastily replied. “Just that, I might have spent three years being a little sleep deprived. But it’s not like I didn’t survive it. I handled it okay on my own.”

            “You mean to say,” Dean established, “that you’ve been dealing with nightmares these bad since for over three years now?”

            Talia winced lightly at his blunt statement but reluctantly confirmed, “I guess yeah. Although hunting again has added some new variety to the nightmares so at least I’m never bored with repetition.” She tried to force a laugh at her weak joke but neither Winchester was very amused by it.

            “And why did you never think to mention this to either of us at any point before now?” Sam demanded.

            The distinct ringing of Dean’s cell phone going off saved Talia from answering this question and she thought she’d never been happier to hear that sound in her entire life. Both boys stared at her for a moment and she could see hurt reflected in their eyes that she hadn’t told them about what she’d dealt with.

            Finally, Dean reached over and picked up his phone. He stared at it with confusion for a moment before flipping it open to answer it.

            “Hello?” Dean was silent for a moment as the person on the other end spoke, “Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It’s not back, is it?”

            Talia looked over at Sam in confusion hopping he had any idea what Dean was talking about or who it might be on the other line. Sam however looked just as dumbfounded as she did and merely shrugged at her as they both waited patiently for Dean to finish talking and explain what was going on.

            Moments later, Dean hung up the phone and explained that it had been a guy named Jerry Panowski who he and John had helped during a case they’d worked sometime back. Apparently this guy wanted to talk to them in person about another supernatural thing cropping up in his town. It wasn’t too far of a drive to where Jerry was and Dean trusted him so they were soon one the road once more.


	13. Chapter 13

            A couple hours’ drive later found the three of them walking through a bustling hangar accompanied by Jerry who proved to be a middle aged man of average height and brown hair that had receded far back on his head. He wore casual grey business slacks with a white checkered shirt and a red tie and he talked to them as he led them through the busy workers towards his office.

            “Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around.” He looked over his shoulder to Sam as he continued, “Dean and your dad really helped me out.”

            “Yeah.” Sam nodded, “Dean told me about it. It was a poltergeist?”

            Somewhere nearby a worker spoke up, “Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie.” Talia chuckled lightly at the comment.

            “Hey, nobody’s talking to you. Keep walking.” Jerry snapped out sharply to the man before carrying on, “Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn’t for you and your dad, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”

            Talia looked over to Dean to see him smiling proudly at this last statement and she rolled her eyes before shoving him lightly with her shoulder as they continued navigating through the hangar.

            “Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?” Jerry inquired lightly to Sam as they walked.

            “Yeah, I was. I’m-” Sam didn’t seem to know quite how to finish his sentence as he ended, “taking some time off.”

            “Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time.”

            “He did?” Sam questioned in disbelief at Jerry’s words.

            “Yeah, you bet he did.” Jerry turned to Talia with his next words, “And he talked an awful lot about you too. Kept going on about how you were finishing high school and how smart you were. He seemed to be sure that you would follow in Sam’s footsteps after graduating.”

            Talia stopped walking completely at Jerry’s words as shock flooded her body. “What? He talked about me?”

            “Definitely.” Jerry affirmed as he continued walking not noticing that she had frozen still. “If it wasn’t about Sam then it was about you. He seemed extremely proud of the both of you.”

            Talia couldn’t believe that John had been talking about her at all to some random stranger and she was even more astounded by the fact that he’d kept track of her progress well enough to know that she was getting good grades. She hadn’t thought he cared that much about her when he’d abandoned her to live alone in that house and she had a greater appreciation for the surprise in Sam’s voice a moment ago. Shaking off the shock, she continued forward and stored the new information to be further examined at a later time.

            “Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn’t. How’s he doing, anyway?”

            Talia saw Dean and Sam exchange a look before Dean replied with a quick lie, “He’s, um, wrapped up in a job right now.”

            Jerry seemed to accept this easily. “Well, we’re missing the old man, but we get Sam and Talia. Even trade, huh?” He broke off with a smile.

            “No,” Sam let out a sarcastic laugh, “not by a long shot.”

            Talia couldn’t help but agree with Sam’s words but Jerry either didn’t hear them or blew them off as spoke up again:

            “I got something I want you guys to hear.” He led the three of them into his office where they sat down in front of his desk. “I listened to this.” He explained as he loaded a CD into a drive, “And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley. Normally I wouldn’t have access to this. It’s the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours.”

            At this point he pressed play, and they listened to a recording that was a little static but Talia could still clearly hear the frantic voice of a pilot shouting out about some sort of mechanical failure and that he needed help immediately. Suddenly, his voice cut out and there was a strange, loud whooshing sound that was much louder than the pilot’s voice had been.

            “The flight took off from here and crashed about two hundred miles south.” Jerry explained further, “Now, they’re saying a mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board and only seven got out alive. The pilot was one, his name is Chuck Lambert and he’s a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh…well, he’s pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault.”

            “You don’t think it was?” Sam said more as a statement than a question.

            “No, I don’t.” Jerry declared strongly.

            “Jerry, we’re gonna need passenger manifests, um-” Sam trailed off as he thought.

            “-a list of survivors.” Talia interjected in.

            “Yeah, that too.” Sam nodded at Talia.

            “And, uh, is there any way we can take a look at the wreckage?” Dean inquired hopefully.

            “The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage…fellas, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I’ve got that kind of clearance.”

            Dean frowned for a moment before nodding conciliatory and saying, “No problem.”

            They took their leave of Jerry shortly thereafter with promises to keep him updated on their progress. Dean then announced that they needed to make a stop in town and pulled over at a store called Copy Jack and walked inside the building with only a quick word to wait for him and that he’d be right out. This left Talia and Sam forced to lean against the Impala and wait for Dean’s return.

             After what seemed to be an eternity later, Talia saw the store door open and she looked up hopefully to see if it was Dean. Thankfully it was, and as he exited the store and met her gaze, she saw a triumphant smirk grow on his face.

            “You’ve been in there forever, Dean.” Talia declared in complaint as he approached her and Sam and in response he procured three laminated Id’s from his pocket and announced:

            “You can’t rush perfection.”

            At this Talia snorted loudly and debated, “Yeah, sure. They’re definitely perfection.”

            Dean shot her a mock glare, “Don’t doubt my skills.”

            Sam simply ignored both of them and grabbed the IDs to look closer at them and then questioned, “Homeland Security? That’s pretty illegal, even for us.”

            “Yeah, well, it’s something new.” Dean stated as he pulled out the keys and walked around to the driver’s side, “You know? People haven’t seen it a thousand times.”

            All three of them go into the car and Sam opened his laptop as Dean questioned, “All right, so, what do you got?”

            “Well, there’s definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder.” Sam replied.

            “Yeah?”

            “Listen.” Sam played the edited version of the recording that he’d made while they’d been waiting for Dean. The new version made a scratchy voice audible that growled out ‘No survivors!’.

            “‘No Survivors’?” Dean queried, “What’s that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors.”

            “Beats me.” Talia declared.

            “So, what are we thinking? A haunted flight?” Dean asked the group.

            “Well, there’s a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers.”

            “Mm-hmm” Dean nodded.

            “Yeah, and remember that one flight, uh…” Talia tapped her fingers in thought before she remembered, “Flight 401! You remember flight 401?”

            “Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights.” Dean elaborated.

            “Exactly. Maybe we’ve got a similar deal here,” said Talia.

            “All right, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?” Dean inquired.

            Talia grabbed the list of survivors that Jerry had given them from where she’d set it down on the seat next to her after she’d been looking through it while Sam had been on his laptop with the recording. “I think the third one on the list, Max Jaffey, is our best bet.”

            She handed the list to Dean as she spoke and he wondered, “Why him?”

            “Well, for one, he’s from around here.” She explained, “And second of all, if anyone saw anything weird, he did.”

            “What makes you say that?”

            “Well, I called his mother and she told me where to find him. Apparently he checked himself into a psychiatric hospital.”

            “He put himself in the nut house?” Dean asked incredulously.

            “Yep.” Talia said with a pop.

            “Guess that’s our next stop then.”

            A little bit of time later found the three of them walking with the aforementioned Max through the yard at Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital. Max was walking with a cane, obviously still recovering from the plane crash, although besides that he seemed to be perfectly fine from what Talia could see.

            “I don’t understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security.” Max spoke up.

            “Right. Some new information has come up. So if you could just answer a couple questions...” Dean trailed off suggestively before Sam spoke up.

            “Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything…unusual?”

            “Like what?” Max questioned with confusion.

            “Strange lights,” Dean listed off, “weird noises, maybe. Voices.”

            “No, nothing.” The slight pause before Max’s reply hinted to Talia that maybe the man was not being totally honest with them and the look she shot towards Dean to tell him as much. Dean nodded in acknowledgment and as they all sat down at one of the several wooden tables that was spread out on the well-manicured lawn he tried again.

            “Mr. Joffey-”

            “Jaffey.” Max corrected.

            “Jaffey.” Dean amended quickly. “You checked yourself in here, right?” After Max nodded in agreement to this statement Dean continued, “Can I ask why?”

            “I was a little stressed,” he bit out sarcastically, “I survived a plane crash.”

            “Uh huh.” Dean said with disbelief. “And that’s what terrified you? That’s what you were afraid of?”

            “I…I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

            “See,” Dean continued to get a little more antagonistic with his interrogating, “I think maybe you did see something up there. We need to know what.”

            “No.” Max declared strongly, “No, I was...delusional, seeing things.”

            Talia could practically feel Dean rolling his eyes before he shared an exasperated glance with her and muttered, “Right, he was _seeing things_.” Dean continued to stare at Talia as he tilted his head slightly towards Max as if asking her to step into the conversation. But Talia quickly turned away from him and nudged Sam’s leg with her own under the table and when he turned sharply to look at her she repeated the same motion that Dean had done.

            Sam sighed under his breath and then spoke up loudly, “That’s okay. Just tell us what you thought you saw, please.”

            Talia couldn’t see Sam’s face but she was sure he was giving Max a bit of the puppy dog stare that he seemed to be annoyingly good at and that made people so willing to listen to him and do what he said.

            Max reluctantly began to retell the story of what he saw before the plane crashed. “There was this man. And, uh, he had these…eyes. These, uh…black eyes.”

            At the mention of black eyes, Talia froze in her chair and gripped the seat until her knuckles turned white as a memory rose unbidden to her mind. It was extremely fuzzy but she could distinctly make out a pair of ominous, obsidian eyes leering over her from within a face that was somehow completely familiar and utterly strange to her at the same time.  Along with the vision her body was flooded with an overwhelming sense of terror brought on by the horrifying sight of the black orbs. Yet, this fright was oddly in conflict with a small sense of comfort that was brought on by the face that Talia felt she should know but for the life of her couldn’t put a name to.

             As quickly as the vision arose it disappeared and left Talia shell shocked as she slowly loosened the tight grip she’d held onto the armrests of the chair. As she slowly tried to recover from what she’d just experienced she felt the prickly sensation of someone’s eyes on her and peered up slowly to see Dean staring at her with a furrowed brow and concern in his gaze. She looked over to see that Max hadn’t noticed her as he had been to engrossed in his story and Sam seemed to have been too focused on listening to Max to notice.

            She quickly turned back to Dean who was still staring at her in concern and she mouthed ‘later’ to him before focusing back in on Max and his story, wondering how much she’d missed.  She felt Dean continue to gaze at her for a moment longer before turning back towards Max while placing a calming hand on Talia’s leg and squeezing it gently in reassurance. She clutched onto his hand gratefully under the table and utilized is warm presence to help her stay grounded in the present moment.

            “He opened the emergency exit.” Max stated like he wasn’t quite sure if that was true or not. “But that’s…that’s impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There’s something like two tons of pressure on that door.”

            There was a moment of silence as they all processed this information before Sam questioned, “This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It would look something like a mirage?”

            Max gave Sam a very odd look, “What are you, nuts?”

            Sam tilted his head in confusion at Max and Talia had to stop herself from giggling at the dog-like behavior that was on par with her previous thought about his puppy dog eyes.

            “He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me.” Max declared.

            After that, they asked Max which exact seat he had been sitting in before taking their leave and returning to the Impala to check the passenger manifest and find out who had been sitting in front of him. They came up with the name George Phelps who had been declared dead from the crash and further researched revealed a home address where his wife lived and which became their next destination.

            As they exited the car, Talia looked at the house in front of them and saw what seemed to be a stereotypical two story suburban home. Thankfully, the new information appeared to have driven Talia’s minor freak out earlier from Dean’s mind as he hadn’t mentioned anything about it in the car ride here. She had no idea what had happened and she wasn’t eager to face an interrogation from Dean about it; she didn’t need him overreacting about something that was probably just the product of an overtired mind.  Plus, after their conversation earlier, she was eager to avoid a discussion about another one of her problems.

            “So here we are. The residence of George Phelps, seat 20C.” Sam announced as he climbed out of the car.

            “Man, I don’t care how strong you are.” Dean declared, “Even yoked up on PCP or something, no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight.”

            “Not if you’re human,” Sam agreed, “But maybe this guy George was something else. Some kind of creature, maybe, in human form.”

            “Does that look like a creature’s lair to you?” Dean inquired sarcastically and indicated the picket fence house in front of them.

            “I don’t know, Dean. I mean, rose bushes, a well-manicured lawn…it looks pretty ominous to me.” Talia replied in mock seriousness while she pretended to shiver in fear.  “Who knows what could live in such terrible conditions.”

            Sam and Dean both laughed before leading the way to the front door where, after knocking, they were greeted by George Phelps’ wife who invited them into her living room to talk.

            “This is your late husband?” Sam questioned as he picked up a photograph of a man off the coffee table in front of him.

            “Yes, that was my George.”

            “And you said he was a dentist, right?” Talia asked next.

            “Yeah. He was headed to a convention in Denver.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Did you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that…” She trailed off and didn’t continue as she choked up a bit in grief.

            “How long were you married?” Talia asked gently after giving the woman a moment to recover.

            “Thirteen years.”

            “In all that time,” Sam interjected, “did you ever notice anything…strange about him, anything out of the ordinary?”

            “Well,” Mrs. Phelps paused for a moment, causing Talia to perk up in her chair, “uh, he had acid reflux, if that’s what you mean.”

            Talia sunk back down again. This was clearly a dead end and she exchanged a look with Sam and Dean and could see that they were all thinking the same thing and they soon excused themselves from the home.

            Walking back down to the car, Talia declared, “Okay, I have to say it. This does not make any sense.”

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed, “A middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified.” He thought for a moment before continuing, “You know what we need to do is get inside that NTSB warehouse, check out the wreckage.”

            “Okay.” Sam said with a smirk as he looked to Talia, “But if we’re going to go that route, we’d better look the part.”

            Talia couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up at the controlled horror that arose on Dean’s face at Sam’s words. She knew how much he hated to wear suits and she wasn’t able to resist the temptation to antagonize him about it. “It’s your lucky day Dean, you get to get all dressed up.” She laughed even harder when he shot her a glare in return.

            “I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you. This means you’ll have to wear a skirt.” Dean shot back in reply.

            Talia hated wearing skirts and despised their constricting nature but she waved off his words and declared confidently, “Nah, it’s the 21st century and thankfully we have this wonderful thing called a pantsuit.”


	14. Chapter 14

            Talia looked over herself in the mirror as she fidgeted with the jacket of the black pantsuit she was wearing with a white button up blouse underneath.  She was standing in the changing room in the back of a local clothing store where she and the boys had gone to get appropriate clothing for impersonating Homeland Security agents.

            Upon entering the store she’d quickly split off from the brothers to head to the women’s section with the promise to meet them outside when she had finished getting everything she needed. Now she stood and examined herself in the mirror and she was surprised at how well the suit fit her. It was a pretty flattering cut for being the cheapest one she could find that still fit the bill and she quickly left to purchase it.

            A few minutes later found her in front of a mirror again.  She had realized on her walk through the store that she would definitely need to grab some makeup to put on to help her look older or there was no way anyone would believe her disguise. Growing up, she’d never learned to wear make-up as she had spent her entire teenage life growing up surrounded by the Winchester men and it hadn’t crossed her mind as something to do. Not only that but it was an entirely impractical ritual for a hunter who was constantly on the move to go through the lengthy process of applying makeup every morning.

            Unfortunately, her inexperience with cosmetics was a bit of a hindrance in this scenario but she knew enough of the basics to apply some mascara, blush, and light eye shadow that gave her a fairly subtle, natural look. That combined with pinning all her hair up in a clip behind her head served to make her look far older than she actually was. Taking in her entire outfit one last time and deciding she had done a pretty good job in a short amount of time she confidently exited the store on the short black wedges that made her an even 6 feet tall.

            As she left the store she spotted the Winchesters leaning casually against the Impala looking very bored and she was sure they had been ready far before she had. She felt suddenly anxious as she approached them and noticed that they were both wearing crisp new black suits with ties. She hoped that her outfit fit in as well as theirs did because if she didn’t know better she would have pegged them both for government agents.

            “Hey guys.” She called as she came to a halt in front of them and rubbed her hands together nervously, “You guys ready to go.” She forced her voice to remain casual.

            Dean and Sam, who had been distracted by their own conversation, looked up at her words and she felt a blush burn her cheeks as both of their eyes widened and they looked her up and down. She stood there fidgeting under the gazes and feeling extremely uncomfortable for what felt like the longest awkward silence ever before Dean broke out of his stare and commented with a whistle.

            “Damn, Andrews. You don’t look half bad.” He smirked playfully and Talia was grateful for his humor that released the tension of the scenario and brought them back into familiar territory.

            “Well,” She scoffed haughtily with faux confidence as she tried to play off her earlier discomfort, “someone in this group has to look good and its certainly not going to be you.” She looked pointedly up at his suit as she said this. “You look like a seventh grader at his first dance. Very nice.”

            “Ugh,” Dean groaned as he pulled on the tails of his coat, “Don’t get me started. I hate this thing.”

            Sam rolled his eyes at Dean and started getting into the Impala and Talia paused to pull nervously at her shirt before she followed suit. However, as she passed by Dean he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and declared lowly.

            “Hey don’t worry, you really do look great. We were just surprised is all.  You look so… grown up.” He smiled softly at her with an emotion Talia couldn’t identify in his eyes before dropping his hand and sliding into the driver’s seat. Talia stood still for a moment, smiling to herself before rounding the car and hopping into the backseat with a slight bounce to her step.

            Arriving at the warehouse where the wreckage of the flight was being held, Sam and Dean stepped out of the car immediately but as Talia gripped onto the door handle she felt herself overwhelmed with nerves once more.  All the confidence she’d felt earlier was gone once more and she wasn’t sure she could do this as she felt her heartbeat picking up in her chest.

            She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath trying to force her nerves to settle when she felt the door being pulled open from her grip on the handle. She opened her eyes to see Dean leaning into the car and offering her a hand to help her out.  She forced what she hoped to be a smile but was probably more of a grimace, onto her face and accepted his helping hand. He didn’t let go of her hand once she’d stood up and instead he squeezed it reassuringly and told her definitively:

            “Don’t be nervous. You got this. It’s all about pretending like you’re meant to be here and as long as you’re with me and Sam, nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

            Talia nodded at his words and he gave one last squeeze of her hand before dropping it and turning to catch up with Sam who was waiting for them both further ahead.

            The two boys lead the way into the building and Talia followed behind them as they stopped at the security desk just inside the door. Dean and Sam flipped open their badges to the security guard and Talia quickly shuffled her hand into her pocket before she flashed her badge as well, doing her best to stare confidently at the guard when he scanned her face. 

            She held her breath as the guard checked out all the badges and sighed in relief when he nodded firmly and gestured for them to go ahead. They entered the room where all the parts of the plane were being kept and Talia saw that the pieces had been assembled into a rough outline of what the plane had looked like before the crash.

            As they began walking through the wreckage, Dean pulled out a small device that Talia recognized as the homemade EMF meter he’d made many years ago from an old Walkman. Talia remembered watching him spend hours putting it together and how proud he had been when he had finished it.

            When Dean put the earbuds in his ears, Sam spoke up with disgust, “What is that?”

            “It’s an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies.”

            “Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is,” Sam said dismissively, “but why does that one look like a busted up Walkman?”

            “Cause that’s what I made it out of.” Dean grinned proudly. “It’s homemade.”

            “Yeah,” Sam snorted sarcastically, “I can see that.”

            Immediately the grin on Dean’s face dropped, and he turned around to continue walking through the wreckage.  Talia quickly punched Sam on the arm in fury and whispered hotly, “What the hell, Sam!”

            “What?” He asked angrily as he rubbed his arm.

            “What’d you have to do that for?” Talia demanded but when Sam continued to stare at her in confusion she threw her arms up into the air and stomped after Dean who was running his EMF meter along various pieces of the plane.

            They continued walking along for a bit when Dean through his hand up to halt them and said, “Check out the emergency door handle.”

            Talia stepped forward and looked at the EMF reader to see it spiking as Dean held it next to the handle. She scratched lightly at a fine yellow dust that was covering the edge of it and examined some that got on her hand. “What is this stuff?”

            “I don’t know.” Sam declared, “One way to find out.” He pulled out a pocket knife and a bag and began scraping some of the dust into the bag.

            Talia was watching Sam work when she felt a strange prickling on the back of her neck and the sudden sensation that they were in danger. “Uh, guys. I think we should leave soon.”

            Dean turned to look at her questioningly but was interrupted from saying anything by the sound of several pairs of storming footsteps echoed into the warehouse. He froze for a second as he listened before he announced, “I think the lady’s right. Time to go.”

            Talia followed Dean as he led the way to a back door and they sprinted out of the warehouse, Sam hastily pocketing the bag with the dust they’d recovered as he ran. The sunlight outside was so bright it blinded Talia for a moment but she didn’t stop her frantic running as the three of them turned the corner around the edge of the exterior of the warehouse.

            They rounded a second corner and after scanning around the tarmac they didn’t see anyone around so they all slowed down to a casual walk as they headed towards the exit.  The sudden blaring of an alarm startled Talia and she started jogging quickly towards the nearby fence as the three of them hurried to escape the area before they were caught.

            Rushing towards the gate, Dean tossed his jacket over the barbed wire along the top and then paused to gesture for Talia to hop over first. She sprinted towards the gate, pushing off the lower bar to get high enough to reach the top bar. Grabbing hold of it, she strained her muscles and clambered over the top, feeling very grateful for Dean’s jacket which was protecting her from the sharp barbs.

            As soon as she had landed on the other side next to Sam, Dean followed suit and landed with a small thud next to her. He pulled his jacket off the gate and turned to Talia, “Well, these monkey suits do come in handy.”

            He started sprinting off as soon as he’d finished speaking and Talia exchanged an amused look with Sam before she burst out laughing and hurried after Dean.

\-----------------------------------------

 

            Sitting in Jerry’s office once more, Talia waited patiently as Jerry examined the sample they had taken from the plane under a microscope. He’d stared oddly at their outfits when they had arrived but hadn’t commented about them aloud and he also didn’t question how they had gotten from a sample from the plane they didn’t have access to. Talia figured he was smart enough to know when it was better to not ask questions.

            “Huh.” Jerry commented as he leaned up from where he’d been looking through the microscope. “This stuff is covered in sulfur.”

            “You’re sure?” Sam questioned.

            “Take a look for yourself.” Jerry strode from behind his desk and headed towards the door as he added, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an idiot to fire.”

            Once Jerry had left, Dean strolled over to have a look at the microscope for himself and after examining it for a brief moment he stood up and pondered, “Hmm. You know, there’s not too many things that leave behind sulfuric residue.”

            “Demonic possession?” Talia offered although the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

            Dean nodded, “It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch.”

            “If the guy was possessed,” Sam declared, “it’s possible.”

            “Yeah but this goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup.” Dean commented, “I mean it’s one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?”

            Talia looked to Dean and asked nervously, “You ever heard of something like this before?”

            “Never.” He declared with certainty.

            Per the usual routine, they soon retreated back to their motel room and went into full research mode. They had posted various articles and images on the wall and there were several different papers strewn along the bed. Sam was sitting at the table on his laptop as always and Talia was laying back on a bed, reading through one of a couple books they’d found on demons and Dean sat on the other bed doing the same.

            “So,” Sam spoke up in the silence that had settled while they all worked away, “every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it.”

            “Yeah, but none of them describe anything like this.” Dean argued.

            “Well, that’s not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made.  One causes earthquakes, another causes disease.”

            “And this one causes plane crashes?” Talia inquired skeptically.

            Sam just shrugged his shoulders.

            “All right, so, what?” Dean stood up and began pacing, “We have a demon that’s evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?”

            “Yeah.” Sam said softly, “You know, who knows how many planes it’s brought down before this one?”

            Dean snorted loudly and Talia looked at him in concern, “What?”

            “I don’t know, guys.” He said with hesitation as he scratched the back of his head “This isn’t our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don’t want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big.” He added the last part in a low voice, “And I wish Dad was here.”

            “Yeah.” Sam agreed softly. “Me too.”

            The sharp ringing of Dean’s phone broke the moment and he pulled it out and flipped it open to answer it.

            “Hello? Oh, hey, Jerry.” He paused to listen for a moment and Talia saw his face drop and shock took over his features. “Jerry, I’m sorry. What happened?”

            Dean continued talking to Jerry and Talia tuned him out as she sat up and pulled on her shoes with the expectations that they were about to head out again and that Dean would fill them in once he had finished the conversation. She finished and turned to Dean to see him snapping his phone shut and she inquired, “Another crash?”

            “Yeah. Let’s go.” He said briskly.

            “Where?” Sam quipped.

            “Nazareth.”

            Standing around in Jerry’s office once more, Talia was overwhelmed with a sense of déjà vu as Jerry once more peered into a microscope to examine a sample they had delivered to him. Only this time, it was from the more recent crash in Nazareth that had killed both Chuck Lambert, Jerry’s friend, and the copilot.

            Jerry had declared that the new sample was also sulfur and Dean speculated that the demon might have been targeting Chuck specifically. However, Sam soon shot that theory down as he announced:

            “Chuck’s plane went down exactly forty minutes into the flight. And get this, so did flight 2485.”

            “Forty minutes?” Jerry asked in confusion, “What does that mean?”

            “It’s biblical numerology.” Dean explained. “You know Noah’s ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death.”

            “I went back,” Sam elaborated further from where he was sitting at Jerry’s computer, “and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in.”

            “Any survivors?” Dean questioned.

            “No. Or not until now, at least, not until flight 2485, for some reason.” Sam then went on, “On the cockpit voice recorder, you remember what the EVP said?”

            “No survivors.” Talia whispered ominously and thought for a moment before continuing. “It’s going after all the survivors. It’s trying to finish the job.”

            Back in the Impala again, Talia and the Winchesters were tracking down every survivor of the flight 2485 crash and making sure none of them were planning on flying again. Talia and Sam had been each franticly calling everyone, pretending to be administering an airline survey and so far they had gone through the list and no one was planning to fly again, except one woman.

            “So our only wildcard left is the flight attendant Amanda Walker.” Dean declared in a questioning tone.

            “Right.” Talia confirmed as she skimmed the list one more time, “I got a hold of her sister Karen who said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight pm. Apparently it’s her first night back on the job.”

            “That sounds like just our luck.” Dean sighed.

            “Dean,” Sam spoke up, “this is a five-hour drive man, even with you behind the wheel.”

            Dean seemed to ignore Sam’s words as he said, “Call Amanda’s cellphone again, see if we can’t head her off at the pass.”

            “I already left her three voice messages.” Sam explained, “She must have turned her cellphone off.” He checked his watch before exhaling in frustration. “God, we’re never gonna make it.”

            “We’ll make it.” Dean declared confidently and the Impala’s engine roared as it accelerated and they sped down the road.

            They made it to the airport in Indianapolis in record time and the car screeched to the halt as Dean parked right outside the entrance and the three of them sprinted inside. They rushed over to the departure boards to look for Amanda’s flight.

            “There.” Talia shouted and pointed to the board and said with relief. “They’re boarding in thirty minutes.” They still had time.

            “Okay.” Dean declared. “We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone.”

            They quickly found a courtesy phone and while Dean was trying to get in contact with Amanda, Talia and Sam stood by nervously, feeling rather helpless.  Dean managed to get a hold of Amanda but from the half of the conversation that Talia could hear it wasn’t going well and she tried to lean in closer to hear what the woman on the other line was saying.

            “No, no. Wait, Amanda. Amanda!” Dean shouted before moving the phone from his ear to look at it for a moment before he slammed it back into the holster. “Damn it! So close.” Dean exclaimed in frustration as he paced back and forth.

            Talia watched the pacing Winchester and couldn’t help but notice that he seemed uncharacteristically on edge about the situation. Dean was usually much more calm under pressure but right now he looked extremely nervous. Her pondering was interrupted by Sam’s voice.

            “All right, it’s time for Plan B. We are getting on that plane.”

            As soon as the words left his mouth, it hit her; Dean was afraid of flying.  It all made so much sense now, why Dean was so on edge. This explained his desperation to find a way to stop Amanda from getting on that plane and thereby forcing them to fly as well.

            “Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second.” Dean argued to Sam, his eyes wide.

            “Dean,” Sam exclaimed, “that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we’re right, that plane is gonna crash.”

            “I know.”

            “Okay. So we’re getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it. I’ll get the tickets. You and Talia get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes.” Sam outline the plan efficiently but Dean stood still and stared back at him anxiously.

            Talia couldn’t help the wide smirk that stretched across her face at the conundrum before her. She knew Dean was terrified of flying but she knew he had never told Sam this and was reluctant to admit it now but he didn’t really have any other options at the moment if they wanted to save all the passengers on this flight.

            Sam looked over and noticed Talia smirking at Dean and looked at her in confusion, “Talia, why are you smiling like that?” He then looked back at Dean and finally noticed the apprehensive look on his face. “Are you okay?” He questioned his brother dubiously.

            Dean shot a quick glare at Talia and shifted back and forth on his feet for a moment before he admitted, “No, not really.”

            “What? What’s wrong?” Sam questioned quickly.

            “Well,” Dean broke off before continuing reluctantly, “I kind of have this problem with, uh…”

            “He’s afraid of flying.” Talia interjected with amusement when Dean trailed off.

            Sam raised an eyebrow at Dean who protested, “It’s never really been an issue until now.”

            “You’re joking, right?” Sam’s voice was full of disbelief.

            “Do I look like I’m joking?!” Dean shouted with exasperation, “Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?”

            “All right.” Sam slowly processed this new information, “Uh, We’ll go then. You stay here.”

            “What?” Talia and Dean exclaimed simultaneously as they both turned to Sam.

            “Yeah, Talia and I can do this one on our own.”

            “What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane’s gonna crash.” Dean argued.

            Talia, who was still slightly amused by the situation spoke up, “Look, he might be right. Maybe you should just stay here and let us handle this one.”

            Sam added on to her argument, “We can all do this together, or Talia and I can do this ourselves. I’m not seeing a third option here.”

            “Come on! Really?” Dean blurted as he looked around nervously before complaining, “Man…”


	15. Chapter 15

            They were making their way through the airport towards the gate of the flight and Dean was getting increasingly nervous the closer they got to actually getting onto the plane.  Talia, who had first thought Dean’s fear to be amusing, was beginning to feel sympathetic for Dean as she watched him get more and more distressed.

            Once they had boarded the plane, they quickly sat in their seats with Dean in the aisle seat, Sam by the window and Talia sitting between the two.  Dean immediately pulled out the airplane safety card and began reading through it anxiously. Talia could see Sam trying to contain a smile at his amusement at seeing his usually tough, badass older brother in such a state of unease.

            “Just try to relax.” Sam added rather unhelpfully, humor evident in his tone.

            “Just try to shut up.” Dean snapped back to him and continued to peer over the safety card.

            Talia shouldered Dean lightly and reassured him, “Hey, don’t worry. It’s going to be fine.”

            Dean mumbled a response and then the engines of the plane roared to life as they prepared for takeoff causing Dean to quickly stow the card away and grip the armrests of his seat in a death grip. The plane rattled around as they accelerated down the runway and Talia watched Dean’s entire body tense up as he flinched at every sound.

            She reached over to squeeze his hand supportively and was surprised when he grabbed onto her hand desperately and she had to suppress a slight wince at the pressure he was exerting as he clenched onto it.

            Dean seemed to relax a fraction after the plane had leveled out a cruising altitude but he still didn’t release his hold on Talia’s hand although his grip wasn’t quite as strong as before. He still tenses up at every little rattle and Talia began racking her brain for some way to get his mind of things and help keep him calm. He wasn’t going to be any help against a demon if he was too busy freaking out and she felt somewhat responsible for helping him through his fear after all the times he’d helped her.

            A lightbulb went off in her head as she thought of the perfect idea. She squeezed Dean’s hand lightly and leaned over to whisper to him so Sam wouldn’t hear, “Hey Dean, I think I’ve got an idea that might help you calm down and relax a bit.” He looked over at her skeptically but said nothing as she began humming along to his favorite Metallica song and nodding at Dean to do the same.

            Dean gave her a look that said she was crazy but when she gave him a hard stare he relented with a sigh and started humming along as well. Talia slowly began lowering her humming until she stopped altogether and she watched with satisfaction as Dean continued to hum to himself and lean his head back against his seat. He was by no means completely relaxed but he wasn’t freaking out anymore either and that was a win in her book.

            “All right guys, now we need to stay focused.” Sam announced from Talia’s other side. “We got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it’s possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism.”

            “Yeah, on a crowded plane.” Dean muttered sarcastically, “That’s gonna be easy.”

            “Yeah, well unless you have an angel tucked away in your carry on and ready to smite the demon in an instant, we’re just going to have to make do.” Sam argued.

“Let’s just take it one step at a time, all right?” Talia interrupted, “Now, who would the demon be possessing?”

            “It’s usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm though.” Dean explained, “Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress.”

            “Well,” Talia concluded, “this is Amanda’s first flight after the crash. If I were her, I’d be pretty messed up.”

            Both boys made noise of agreement and Dean flagged down a nearby flight attendant as he asked hopefully, “Excuse me. Are you Amanda?”

            “No, I’m not.”

            “Oh, my mistake.” Dean scanned around the plane and after looking down the aisle behind him, he said, “All right, well, that’s got to be Amanda back there, so I’ll go talk to her, and uh, I’ll get a read on her mental state.”

            “What if she’s already possessed?” Talia inquired.

            “There’s ways to test that.” Dean rummaged in the bag at his feet before procuring a plastic bottle in the shape of the Virgin Mary with what appeared to be water inside. “I brought holy water.”

            “No.” Sam leaned across and snatched the bottle out of Dean’s hand, tucking inside his jacket. “I think we can go with something subtler. If she’s possessed, she’ll flinch at the name of God.”

            “Oh. Nice.”

“Don’t forget to say it in Latin.” Talia called out as Dean crawled out of his seat to head to the back of the plane.

            “I know.” Dean replied.

            “Hey!” Sam called out as Dean went to leave again causing Dean to turn sharply and lean back towards them. “Uh, in Latin, it’s ‘Christo’”

            “Dude, I know! I’m not an idiot!” Dean exclaimed in exasperation before heading towards the back of the plane.

            Talia tried to casually peer behind her to see what was going on but she couldn’t see anything from her angle so she was forced to wait impatiently for Dean to return.

            A couple of minutes later Dean walked up and slid back into his seat and declared, “All right, well, she’s got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet.”

            “You said “Christo?” Sam wondered.

            “Yeah. There’s no demon in her. There’s no demon getting in her either.”

            “So,” Talia said as she began scanning the faces around her, “if it’s on the plane, it can be anyone. Anywhere.”

            Just as she finished speaking the plane shook once more and Dean tensed up as he yelled, “Come on! That can’t be normal!”

            “Hey, hey,” Sam exclaimed, “it’s just a little turbulence.”

            “Sam,” Dean said with exasperation, “this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I’m friggin’ four.”

            “You need to calm down.” Sam demanded and Talia glared at him as the brothers talked across her, did he really think that was going to help?

            “Well, I’m sorry I can’t.”

            “Yes, you can.”

            “Dude,” Dean spoke vehemently, “stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap, it’s not helping.”

            Talia decided it was time to intervene as she couldn’t handle the boys bickering any longer so she turned to Dean and announced, “Listen Dean, if you’re panicked then you are wide open to demonic possession, so you have to calm yourself down. Right now.”

            Dean looked at her skeptically before he inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled as he took a long breath.

            After Dean had gathered himself, Sam spoke up. “Good. Now, I found an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work. The Rituale Romanum.”

            “What do we have to do?” Talia inquired.

            “It’s two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim’s body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful.” Sam explained.

            “More powerful?” Dean questioned swiftly, “How?”

            “Well, it doesn’t need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own.”

            “Oh. And why is that a good thing?” Dean asked with confusion.

            “Well,” Sam went on, “because the second part sends the bastard back to hell once and for all.”

            “First things first,” Talia announced. “We got to find it.”

            They spent the next couple minutes wandering down the aisles combing through the passengers carefully and Talia walked cautiously towards the front of the plane while she tried to casually examine each person she passed to look for bizarre behavior. Dean was walking about 10 feet behind her scanning back and forth with his EMF reader while Sam remained seated.

            Talia heard voices behind her and she paused to turn around and see the two Winchesters bickering over where the demon could be as they hadn’t found anything yet despite checking the entire plane twice. She sighed in exasperation and stood there while the two men argued and she wondered how this would help them find the demon any quicker.

            As she stood there she suddenly felt an uneasy feeling in her heart that gradually grew stronger and stronger until it felt like a ball of energy was trapped inside her chest. It was a rather uncomfortable sensation and she gasped as she rubbed her chest to attempt to ease the feeling.  The energy seemed to spread throughout her entire torso and it seemed to pull on her body until she found herself stumbling forward, almost against her will.  She followed the tugging sensation as it led her forward until she stood in the front of the plane.

            Just as she came to a halt, the bathroom door cracked open and the copilot stepped out and looked at her for a moment with a smile. Talia felt a chill run down her spine as the radiant warmth from the energy she’d felt seemed to disappear in a flash. For a moment, the face of the man had flickered and she could have sworn that it had been replaced with a visage so terrifying and hideous that she could not find words to describe it besides _demonic_.

            However, it was gone as soon as it had arrived and Talia tried to write it off to her active imagination and nerves from this hunt but despite the absence of the strange energy within her she went with her gut feeling. Shaking off the horror of the imagined face, she called out lowly before the copilot could fully enter the cockpit, “Christo.”

            The copilot turned slowly around and faced her with eyes that were a complete, soulless black color.  She felt terror overwhelm her once more as her muscles froze and she felt helpless as a memory flashed into her head of another identical pair of ebony orbs peering over her from a blurry face that only emphasized the unnatural horror of those eyes. It was the same memory she’d had before when they had talked to Max at the psychiatric hospital.

            The unexpected sudden weight of a hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts and she jumped in shock.

            “Talia, you okay?” Sam’s voice questioned gently and a look of concern crossed his face at her jumpy reaction. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

            Talia relaxed upon seeing both Dean and Sam, who had apparently stopped arguing, standing behind her. She exhaled slowly and tried to wrap her mind around the events of the last couple minutes as she reassured the boys. “I’m fine. I, uh…I think I found our man, er, demon.”

            “What! Where? Who?” Dean fired out rapidly.

            “It’s the copilot.” Talia explained as her nerves settled. “I saw him as he was entering the cockpit just now.”

            “How did you know it was him? Did you check?” Sam inquired next.

            Talia hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not to tell the boys of the weird energy she’d felt in her heart or the strange face she’d seen but she decided against it. She was probably just hallucinating from sleep deprivation and she didn’t want them to get concerned about something that was probably no big deal.

            “I just had a hunch and I was standing here as he left so I figured I’d try it out. So I said ‘Christo’ and sure enough, black eyes and all.” Talia was grateful when neither brother questioned her further.

            “Well that complicates things.” Dean exclaimed. “I think we are going to need Amanda’s help on this.”

            Sam turned to lead the way to the back of the plane as he protested, “She’s not going to believe this.”

            Talia followed the boys feeling strangely exhausted from her experience but she tried to shake it off and focus on the problem at hand.

            “We’ve got twelve minutes, dude.” Dean argued.                

            They reached the back of the plane and Amanda turned around to face them as Talia closed the privacy curtain behind them.

            “Oh, hi. Flight’s not too bumpy for you, I hope.” She smiled kindly at them.

            “Actually, that’s kind of what we need to talk to you about.” Dean started cautiously.

            Talia leaned against the wall of the plane as Sam and Dean tried to convince Amanda of the danger they were in and get her help in dealing with it. She was exhausted and although she no longer felt the same feeling she had earlier she could sense the energy was not gone. Instead it felt like a cloud passing over the sun, it was still there, dormant and at any moment the light would burst through again. The thought terrified her and she didn’t like the feeling of helplessness.

            Soon, Talia saw Amanda leave to go try and bring the copilot back here so they could deal with them and she stood up straight as Dean and Sam turned around trying to conceal her exhaustion.

            Dean peered through the curtains to check on Amanda and then reached into his pocket to bring out John’s journal, which contained the exorcism they needed, and handed it to Talia while giving Sam the bottle of holy water.

            As soon as the man stepped through the curtain into the back of the plane, Dean punched him across the face, knocking him down. He leapt over the fallen man, pinning him down and slapping a piece of duct tape across his mouth.

            Amanda freaked out when they started assaulting the copilot and she shouted, “Wait. What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him.”

            “We are gonna talk to him.” Dean grunted as Sam went to help him keep the struggling man down.

            Sam splashed some holy water which immediately sizzled upon coming in contact with the man and Amanda exclaimed once more:

            “Oh my god! What’s wrong with him?”

            Talia finally turned to the woman and announced firmly, “Look, we need you to calm down. We need you outside the curtain.” Amanda began babbling incoherently for a moment as she stood frozen in fear before Talia gently pushed her towards the exit. “Don’t let anybody in, okay?” She held eye contact with the flight attendant. “Can you do that? Amanda?” Talia gently shook the woman to break her from her shock.

            “Okay. Okay.” She whispered before exiting the room to stand guard.

            Talia turned back to the Winchesters who were trying to contain the man struggling beneath them, but she hurriedly avoided looking at the man’s face, terrified that the other face she saw earlier would appear again.

            “Hurry up, Talia!” Dean yelled as he grunted with effort, “I don’t know how much longer we can hold him.”

            Talia quickly looked down at the journal she held and kneeled next to them as she began reciting the exorcism, which was in Latin of course. As she continued speaking, Sam poured more holy water on the demon as he helped Dean restrain him but the demon heaved upwards in a surge of strength and knocked the bottle from Sam’s hands.

            The bottle flew across the room as the demon surged to his feet and shoved Sam and Dean off of him causing them to fly against the wall and fall to the ground, unconscious. Talia scrambled to stop the demon but he punched her and then slammed her against the wall, holding her by the throat effortlessly.

            “Silly little girl.” It roared in anger, “you don’t even know what you can do, do you? Well you can watch while I kill your friends and then I’ll kill everyone on this plane too. Your ignorance will be your downfall.” Then it slammed her head against the wall making stars appear before her eyes and dropping her where she collapsed on the floor.

            As she struggled to stay conscious, she saw Dean and Sam slowly stirring from where they were slumped and she watched in horror as the demon turned to them. The two brothers were too dazed to put up a fight as the demon stalked closer and spat:

            “Looks like they woke up just in time to die.”

            Terror swept through her bones and the thought of the demon hurting either of the Winchesters caused a spike of adrenaline which gave her the energy to struggle to her feet. As she stood, she felt the return of the energy from earlier except this time it overwhelmed her. It was like a warm light surging through her veins and filling her entire body with energy and a righteous fury that continued to build until she felt like she could burst.

            “No!” She yelled but it came out more like a roar and she didn’t even recognize her own voice. The demon turned to face her and she was astonished to see fear on its face. “Stay away from them!” She screamed as the energy that had built up inside of her burst forth and surged from her through her open mouth as she yelled.

            The demon clapped his hands over his ears as he knelt over in pain and Talia didn’t need the tugging coming from her stomach to encourage her to tackle it to the ground and pin it.  She then scrambled to find the journal from where she had dropped it earlier. Scanning around, she spotted it lying at Dean’s feet where he and Sam lay, quickly regaining consciousness.

            “Dean!” She shouted desperately, “The journal!” Dean was staring at her in shock and awe and she winced when she realized he had seen what she had just done. Whatever it was exactly that she had just done. However, he snapped out of it and grabbed the journal while shaking Sam awake as well.

            The two of them rushed over to help Talia restrain the demon who had begun struggling anew while Dean shoved the journal into Talia’s hands. She quickly let the brothers take over while she hurried to finish the exorcism, rapidly chanting in Latin till she finally finished it and exclaimed triumphantly, “I got him!”

            The demon continued to struggle and scream as one of his feet kicked out and sent the journal skidding down the aisle into the main part of the plane where the rest of the passengers were sitting completely unaware of what was going on behind them.

            Talia, Sam and Dean watched on as a black smoke streamed from the copilot’s mouth as he roared until the man’s body fell limp and the smoke entered a nearby vent swiftly.

            Sam and Dean released the man’s body and looked for where the smoke went.

            “Where’d it go?”

            “It’s in the plane. Hurry up. We got to finish it.” Talia explained quickly and she turned to retrieve the journal but as soon as she took a step her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor.

            It was at that moment that she realized just how drained she was, whatever she had just done had zapped every ounce of energy in her body and she didn’t think she could move a muscle as she lay on the floor.

            Dean rushed over to her side while he ordered, “Sam, you go, get the journal and finish the exorcism!” He then helped Talia to stand, as Sam rushed off, and as she stood up leaning most of her weight against him, he asked “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah, I’m just really tired and I think I hit my head pretty hard against the wall.”

            “Does this have to do with what happened earlier?”

            Talia stared at Dean in shock as she stammered, “Wha-what? What do you mean?”

            He sounded unsure as he replied, “Well, it’s just…as I was waking up I saw you standing there and you must have been yelling something cause your mouth was open but I couldn’t hear anything, just this sharp ringing. But then, your eyes, I could have sworn that they were…glowing, with this blue light.”

            A sharp plummeting of the plane interrupted their conversation before Talia could say anything, not that she was really sure what to say.  Both Talia and Dean stumbled forward as the plane dipped rapidly and the whole cabin began shaking around as the passengers began screaming in fright.  It was chaos as papers and items flew everywhere. Dean managed to brace himself against the exit door as he shouted in terror while Talia merely braced herself at his feet where she’d fallen. 

            She lay sitting up with her back against the door and her arms wrapped tightly around Dean’s leg. The combination of the freefall with her utter exhaustion was making her extremely nauseous and she clenched her eyelids shut as she prayed that Sam had found the journal and was finishing the exorcism.

            After what felt like an eternity later, a wave of electrical charge swept through the plane before it slowly righted and they stopped falling through the air.  Talia exhaled in relief and released her grip on Dean’s leg as let her head fall back in relief. Sam must have finished the exorcism, they were safe.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------

 

            They were finally back on the ground again and Talia wasn’t sure she would be flying again anytime soon. They managed to slip away from the paramedics rather quickly despite Talia still having to lean on Dean for support since she was too tired to walk on her own.  He led her through the airport as quickly as they could manage as she trudged forward exhaustedly, looking forward to collapsing into the backseat of the Impala.

            Later that day, they had returned to Jerry’s office to let him know what happened and they were just about to leave as Jerry spoke up:

            “Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed.” He then shook all three of their hands and added, “Your dad’s going to be real proud.”

            “We’ll see you around, Jerry.” Sam stated as he walked towards the Impala.

            Dean stopped and turned around as if a thought had occurred to him. “You now, Jerry. I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway? I’ve only had it for like six months.”

            “Your dad gave it to me.” Jerry replied simply causing Talia and the boys to perk up immediately.

            “What?” Sam asked frantically.

            “When did you talk to him?” Dean questioned swiftly.

            “I mean, I didn’t exactly talk to him,” Jerry explained, “but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call. Thanks again, guys.” He walked off back into his warehouse while Talia watched the boys exchange confused glances.

            Dean pulled out his cell phone and sat next to Sam and Talia on the hood of the car as they contemplated this new information.

            “This doesn’t make any sense.” Sam complained. “I’ve called Dad’s number like fifty times. It’s been out of service.”

            In response, Dean whipped out his cell phone and dialed John’s number, putting it on speaker phone so they could all hear it. After ringing for awhile a voice message plays with the unmistakable voice of John Winchester saying:

            “This is John Winchester. I can’t be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. (785)-555-0179. He can help.”

            They all sat there silently in thought until Sam arose angrily with a huff and then stalked to the passenger side and got inside, fuming. After a moment, Talia and Dean got up to do the same and they drove off once more onto the open road.


	16. Chapter 16

            “Sam, wake up!” Talia called as she jostled his shoulders from behind his seat. She had been watching him sleep restlessly and as his fidgeting had increased, he appeared more disturbed and she decided to wake him up.

            His eyes shot open and his breathing was heavy as he sat up and looked around confusedly, unsure of where they were.

            “I take it I was having a nightmare.”

            “Yeah, another one.” Dean replied bitterly.

            “Hey, at least I got some sleep.” Sam joked weakly and both Talia and Dean glared at him sharply. The former had actually slept wonderfully for the last couple days as she’d been so exhausted from the stunt on the plane that every night she passed out and slept dreamlessly. She’d even been sleeping a lot in the car too and she was surprised by the amount of undisturbed sleep she was getting, not that she was complaining at all.

            “You know, sooner or later we’re gonna have to talk about this.” Dean stated dismissively as if he knew it wasn’t going to happen soon.

            “Are we here?” Sam changed topics.

            “Yup.” Talia answered for Dean, “Welcome to Toledo, Ohio.” She threw a newspaper onto Sam’s lap on which she had circled the obituary article that had hinted at a potential case in this town. It was an announcement of the death of a man called Steven Shoemaker.

            “So what do you think really happened to this guy?” Sam inquired.

            “We don’t know.” Talia replied sarcastically, “That’s what we’re here to find out, stupid.” She laughed lightly at the end of her sentence to show she meant no harm.

            Sam scoffed, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”

            The three of them walked into the building which they had been parked outside of and followed the signs that led them to the morgue where they wanted to take a look at the body. As they walked into the room, Talia noticed an empty desk with a nameplate that read ‘Dr. D. Feiklowicz’ before they walked over to the occupied desk that had a similar nameplate which simply read ‘Morgue Technician’.

            As they approached the man at the desk, he greeted them and Dean stepped forward to lead the conversation. “We’re the, uh…med students.” He started hesitantly and Talia was amused at the lack of preparation in his lie as she could tell he was coming up with it on the spot.

            “Sorry?” The technician asked hesitantly.

            “Oh, Doctor-” Dean pointed at the unoccupied desk and struggled to pronounce the name, “Figlavitch didn’t tell you? We talked to him on the phone. He, uh, we’re from Ohio State. He’s supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It’s for our paper.”

            “Well, I’m sorry, he’s at lunch.” The man explained.

            “Oh well he said, uh-” Dean looked at Sam and Talia for help but she shrugged unhelpfully, “-oh, well, you know it doesn’t matter. You don’t mind just showing us the body, do you?”

            “Sorry, I can’t.” The tech replied, “Doc will be back in an hour. You can wait for him if you want.”

            “An hour?” Dean hissed through his teeth, “We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then. Uh, look man, this paper’s like half our grade, so if you don’t mind helping us out-”

            “Uh look, man.” the main interrupted antagonistically, “No.”

            Dean smiled and laughed weakly as he turned around and mumbled under his breath, “I’m going to hit him in his face, I swear.”

            Talia smirked and pulled Dean backwards a bit as Sam stepped forward to take the lead as he pulled out his wallet from his back pocket. Pulling out a wad of twenties, Sam slapped them down on the desk and stared at the man. Dean grimaced from behind him while the technician stared at the money for a moment before grabbing it and standing up as he announced:

            “Follow me.”

            Before they followed the technician to the body, Dean grabbed Sam’s arm and exclaimed, “Dude, I earned that money.”

            “You won it in a poker game.” Sam scoffed.  
            “Yeah.” Dean declared as if he didn’t understand why that was significant.

            Sam rolled his eyes and just stalked after the technician while Talia laughed and then followed suit.  Standing around the dead body, Talia was horrified when the sheet covering it was removed, revealing the empty eye sockets that were covered in blood.  Apparently the man had been alone when he died and the doctor had been unsure of the cause of death but figured it was a massive stroke her aneurysm. Further questioning of the morgue technician revealed that the man’s brain had also been filled with more blood than ever seen before.

            Once they had gotten all the information they could, including taking a look at the police report which had required bribing the technician once more, they made their way outside.

            “This might not be one of ours.” Sam debated, “Might just be some freak medical thing.”

            Dean looked at Sam in disbelief as he questioned, “How many times in Dad’s long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?”

            “Uh, almost never.” Sam replied.

            “Exactly.” Dean declared.

            “All right, let’s go talk to the daughter.” Sam conceded.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

            Talia followed Dean and Sam as they walked into the Shoemaker home where the funeral was being held.  She looked around and noticed that everyone there was dressed formally in black and she and the brothers stood out like sore thumbs in the crowd.

            “I feel like we’re extremely underdressed, guys.” She complained lowly.

            Dean nodded in agreement as he lead the way through the house towards the back and after asking for help from a mourner they were lead to the backyard where a group of girls were sitting.  They approached the group as Dean inquired:

            “You must be Donna, right?”

            A girl with short, dark brown hair looked up. “Yeah.”

            “Hi, uh-” Sam spoke up awkwardly, “we’re really sorry.”

            “Thank you.”

            The conversation trailed off uncomfortably for a moment before Talia tried to rescue it, “I’m Talia and this is Sam and Dean.” She gestured to the two boys as she spoke, “We worked with your dad.”

            “You did?” Donna asked in confusion as she glanced over at her friend next to her causing Talia to wince slightly.

            “Yeah.” Dean piped in hurriedly, “This whole thing. I mean, a stroke.”

            “I don’t think she really wants to talk about this right now.” The friend interrupted.

            “It’s okay.” Donna reassured her, “I’m okay.”

            “Were there any symptoms? Dizziness? Migraines?” Dean questioned gently.

            As Donna shook her head in disagreement, a younger girl that was sitting on her other side and had been facing away from them turned around swiftly and announced with distress, “That’s because it wasn’t a stroke.”

            “Lily, don’t say that.” Donna declared sharply.

            “What?” Talia addressed the girl who looked to be a few years younger than herself.

            “I’m sorry, she’s just upset.” Donna explained as she glared at her sister.

            “No.” Lily declared adamantly, “it happened because of me.”

            Talia could see the anguish in the girl’s face and she knelt down in front of her to address her directly. “Lily, why would you say something like that?”

            “Right before he died, I said it.”

            “You said what?” Talia questioned softly.

            “Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror.” Talia felt shock cross her features at the girl’s admission and she was sure the Winchesters were feeling the same thing. “She took his eyes, that’s what she does.”

            “That’s not why Dad died.” Donna argued strongly with the air of someone who’d had this conversation multiple times before. “This isn’t your fault.”

            Talia felt terrible for the poor girl who was blaming herself for her father’s death and she was quick to reassure her. “I think your sister’s right, Lily. There’s no way it could have been Bloody Mary. I mean, your dad didn’t say it, did he?” When Lily shook her head in response, Talia continued, “Well there you go, it’s not your fault at all.”

            Soon after that conversation they made their way back inside to sneak upstairs and take a look at the crime scene. Walking cautiously down the deserted upstairs hallway, they entered the second door on the right which was the bathroom. Sam lead the way as he slowly pushed open the door and from behind him, Talia could see leftover dried blood staining the tile floor.

            “The Bloody Mary legend…Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?” Sam looked at Dean.

            “Not that I know of.” Dean replied as he stepped into the bathroom to have a look around.

            Talia stepped inside as well to take a look around although she was hesitant to look into any of the mirrors.

            “I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it.” Sam wondered aloud.

            “Yeah, well, maybe everywhere it’s just a story, but here it’s actually happening.” As he spoke, Dean examined the medicine cabinet over the sink and opened it to look inside.

            “The place where the legend began?” Sam asked.

            “But according to the legend,” Talia argued, “the person who says B-” she froze mid-sentence as she stared at her reflection in the mirror on the cabinet door that was now facing her thanks to Dean opening it. She closed it hurriedly and looked away before continuing cautiously, “The person who says you know what, gets it. But here-”

            “Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah.” Dean interrupted before he speculated, “I’ve never heard anything like this before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter’s right. The way the legend goes, you know who scratches your eyes out.”

            “It’s definitely worth checking into.” Sam agreed.

            The sound of clacking heels coming from the hallway startled them and all three of them hurried to exit the bathroom but just as Talia stepped through the doorway she came face to face with Donna’s friend from outside.

            “What are you doing up here?” She questioned suspiciously.

            “We-we, had to go to the bathroom.” Dean explained rather weakly.

            The girl raised her eyebrow in doubt and then demanded sharply, “Who are you?”

            Talia crossed her arms in annoyance as she faced the girl, not appreciating her rude tone or the fact that she was interfering with their work. “Like we said downstairs,” she replied strongly, “we worked with Donna’s dad.”

            “He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself.” The girl shot back.

            “‘day trader or something’, huh? Sounds like you don’t know enough about his job to be telling us whether or not we worked for him.” Talia snapped back harshly as she stared the girl down.

            The girl glared back at her as she replied angrily, “All those weird questions downstairs, what was that? You tell me what’s going on, or I start screaming.”

            Talia’s annoyance rose, they had things to be doing and couldn’t wait around to answer this ignorant girl’s questions. She took an aggressive step forward, determined to physically remove the girl from their path and the girl in front of her flinched back.

            However, before she could take another step, Sam was hurriedly pulling her backwards and pushing her towards Dean as he tried to diffuse the situation. “All right, all right.” Sam declared soothingly, “We think something happened to Donna’s dad.”

            “Yeah, a stroke.” The girl stated simply and Talia rolled her eyes from where Dean was holding her back as she snorted in disbelief at the statement.

            “Hey,” Dean whispered in her ear, “calm down there, little wolf. You’re practically growling at the girl; she doesn’t know what’s going on.”

            Talia turned around to face Dean in shock as her hand involuntarily reached up to finger the necklace she always wore as memory flashed into the forefront of her mind.

 

            _(11 years ago)_

_Talia was lying in bed despite the late afternoon sun that was shining through the gaps in the window blinds. She was curled under the blankets with her back to the light, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.  For the first time in a week, her eyes were dry and she had finally stopped crying but now she felt as empty as the blank white wall she was fixated on._

_“Hey, Talia.” A familiar voiced called gently in a tone she was getting all too familiar with._

_It was a tone and volume that was a verbal tiptoeing around her as if the speaker was afraid she would break into a million pieces if addressed regularly. She was beginning to hate all the pitying looks and she wished they would stop treating her like she was fragile, with a heart made of glass. Little did they know, they couldn’t break what was already shattered.           “Talia.” Dean called again and this time it was followed with a gentle tapping of a hand on her shoulder._

_Talia reluctantly rolled around to face him despite her desire to be left alone and she stared blankly at him as she waited for him to explain why he had disturbed her._

_“I, uh-” He seemed oddly nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down to avoid her gaze. “I got you something.” He stated hastily as he thrust out a small box that was shoddily wrapped with what looked like the wrappers from the burgers he’d eaten for lunch._

_She sat up slowly and withdrew her hands from the blankets to reach out cautiously and take the box from his hand._

_“I meant to give it to you on your birthday but then, well you know…” he trailed off and winced before stammering, “I just remembered now and, well…um…I guess, I just…Happy Birthday.” He finally looked up to meet her eyes as he finished and she stared at him silently for a moment._

_She felt a tiny spark of amusement, for the first time in a week, at Dean’s awkwardness and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly as the silence stretched on. Not that it was surprising, she hadn’t spoken a word since **it** had happened. She eventually looked down at the present Dean had handed her and slowly pulled apart the wrapping, that still had some specks of ketchup staining it, to reveal a small white cardboard box. Lifting the lid, she revealed a necklace with a simple black, woven rope cord and a silver pendant._

_“It’s supposed to be used for protection and I know they are your favorite animal.” Dean explained cautiously as she remained silent. “Also I read that wolves howl to signal their location to the pack and I wanted you to have a reminder that you have a family too, little wolf. And if you feel alone just remember that all you have to do is call for me and I’m there.”_

_The pendant was shaped like a sitting wolf with its ears flattened back as it howled at the moon and the wolf was covered in some sort of tribal markings.  She stared at the necklace in shock before clenching it tightly in a fist as she felt a single tear she didn’t know she had left slip down her face._

_“Shit, I’m sorry! Don’t cry. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to take it!” Dean apologized quickly as he saw her cry._

_Talia interrupted his apologies by standing up suddenly and wrapping her arms around Dean tightly in a fierce hug. He was startled by her for a moment but then wrapped his arms back around her in return._

_Talia took a second to just enjoy the comfort and warmth that Dean’s presence always brought before she croaked weakly in a voice that was rough from disuse:_

_“Thank you Dean.”_

           

            “You haven’t called me that in years.” Talia declared softly as she shook off the emotion that the memory had filled her with.

            “I don’t know, it just kind of slipped out.” Dean looked shocked himself at his words but then he smirked and shrugged while he declared, “Guess you just reminded me how much it fits you when you nearly attacked her.”

            Talia groaned in annoyance at the smirk on Dean’s face before turning around to see Sam writing his phone number down on a piece of paper as he spoke:

            “If you think of anything, or if you or your friends notice anything strange, out of the ordinary…just give us a call.” Sam handed the slip of paper to the girl who was still standing in the doorway. He then gestured for Talia and Dean to follow him as he slipped past her and walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

            They exited the Shoemaker residence and as they walked back towards where they had parked, Talia spoke up questioningly, “To the library?”

            “To the library.” Sam confirmed.

            They were walking down the hallway in the library, trying to figure out what exactly to look for as Dean spoke, “All right, say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There’s gonna be some sort of proof. Like a local woman who died nasty.”

            “Yeah,” Sam agreed, “but a legend this widespread, it’s hard. I mean, there’s like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she’s a witch, another says she’s a mutilated bride, there’s a lot more.”

            They approached the center foyer of the library and as Talia scanned across the many bookshelves before them she asked, “All right, so what are we supposed to be looking for then?”

            “Every version’s got a few things in common.” Sam reasoned, “It’s always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we’ve gotta search local newspapers-public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill.”

            “Well that sounds annoying.” Dean complained.

            “Nah, it won’t be so bad, as long as we…” Talia trailed off as she looked at the only computers in the library that had signs on them that read ‘out of order’. She laughed dryly and corrected herself. “Shit. I take that back. This is going to be very annoying.” She groaned before the three of them set to work on the hunt for Bloody Mary.


	17. Chapter 17

            Talia tried her best to be comforting as she sat next to the sobbing girl who had buried her head in her hands.  She was with the Winchesters in a park where they had met a distraught Charlie, the same girl who had ambushed them in the bathroom, after she had called Sam crying on the phone.

            The three of them had returned to their motel room and continued looking for any odd deaths involving a girl named Mary and having no luck when Sam had gotten a call from Charlie who, in between sobs, explained that her friend Jill was dead.

            The three of them had quickly hopped in the car and sped over to meet the girl which had led to this moment where Dean and Talia were sitting on either side of the girl on a park bench doing their best to console her as she explained to them exactly what had happened.

            “And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her-her eyes. They were gone.” She cried out with confusion.

            “I’m sorry.” Sam declared softly.

            “And she said it.” Charlie continued distraughtly. “I heard her say it.” Talia exchanged a knowing look with Dean behind her back as she continued, “But it couldn’t be because of that. I’m insane right?” She looked up at where Sam was standing hopefully but it was Dean who answered solemnly:

            “No, you’re not insane.”

            “Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse.” She began sobbing once more and Talia sat awkwardly next to her as she did. She had never been very comfortable around people when they were crying and she always felt out of place and unsure when it happened so she tried to continue the conversation quickly:

            “Look. We think something’s happening here. Something that can’t be explained.”

            “And we’re gonna stop it but we could use your help.” Dean added.

            They next thing she knew; Talia was crouched outside a second floor window next to the two Winchesters feeling quite like a burglar.  Climbing up to the second floor of the house from the outside had been a bit of a chore and she was sweating a bit as she squatted down outside the window to Charlie’s friend, Jill’s, room. She was reminded of the time she and Dean broke into Sam’s apartment on Halloween and she called out softly:

            “Man Dean, you sure make a habit out of breaking into people’s homes through the windows.” Then with a snicker she added, “Try not to run into anything this time, huh?” She slapped a hand on his shoulder playfully as she grinned widely at him.

            “Ha. ha.” He replied dryly with a glare, “Real funny, little wolf.”

It was his turn to smirk while she glared back at him, not a fan of the reemergence of the childhood nickname and she felt a whole new appreciation for Sam’s dislike of Dean’s use of the ‘Sammy’. The scraping sound of the window being raised caused her to focus her attention back onto their point of entry as Charlie opened the window from inside. Sam crawled through first followed by Dean, still smirking, who handed him the duffle bag of supplies they’d brought and then Talia clambered over last.

            Standing up in the room, Talia looked around to see a typical bedroom with light blue walls and white furniture.  She then turned around to shut the window and draw the blinds shut as she heard Sam question:

            “What did you tell Jill’s mom?”

            “Just that I needed some time alone with Jill’s pictures and things.” Charlie explained before complaining, “I hate lying to her.”

            “Trust us,” Dean reassured her, “this is for the greater good. Hit the lights.”

            The flicking of the light switch cast the room into shadow as Charlie asked, “What are you guys looking for?”

            “We’ll let you know as soon as we find it.” Talia declared dismissively as she watched Sam fiddle the digital camera they had before looking up with confusion.

            “Hey, night vision.” Talia snorted lightly in amusement at the college man’s struggle to work the camera before reaching over and flipping the switch that set the camera into night vision mode. “Perfect, thanks.”

            Sam walked towards the closet to begin scanning with the camera while Talia walked around with and EMF reader to see if she could get anything.

            “So I don’t get it.” Sam spoke up as he worked, “I mean…the first victim didn’t summon Mary, and the second victim did. How’s she choosing them?”

            “Beats me.” replied Dean from across the room. “I want to know why Jill said it in the first place.”

            “It’s just a joke.” Charlie explained from where she was standing in the corner, trying not to get in the way.

            Talia chuckled humorlessly, “Yeah, well I hope the joke was worth it. We need to stop this soon because it’s just a matter of time before someone says it again.”

            “Hey.” Sam’s voice called out from the bathroom, “There’s a black light in the trunk, right?”

            Dean nodded in response and Talia announced, “I got it.” She tossed her EMF reader to Dean who caught it deftly before she jogged over to the window to climb through once more.  Moments later, she returned to the room with the black light in hand and she threw it to Sam who had laid the mirror from the bathroom face down on the bed.

            Sam peeled off the brown paper that was covering the back of the mirror and flicked on the black light to scan it slowly over the mirror. The light illuminated an eerie hand print before Sam moved it and revealed the words ‘Gary Bryman’.

            “Gary Bryman?” Charlie voiced in confusion as she peered over Sam’s shoulder.

            “You know who that is?” Sam asked seriously.

            “No.”

            “Yay!” Talia shouted sarcastically, “more research!”

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

            Talia stood outside with Dean and Charlie while they waited for Sam to return with information on who Gary Bryman was and hopefully they could figure out why he was important.

            “So,” Talia looked up at Sam’s voice and watched him approach as he informed them, “Gary Bryman was an eight-year-old boy. Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver.”

            “Oh my god.” Charlie exclaimed in horror.

            “What?”

            “Jill drove that car.”

            Talia looked over at Dean, knowing that couldn’t be a mere coincidence, especially with everything that was going on.

            “We need to get back to your friend Donna’s house.” Dean announced to Charlie.

            They quickly returned to the Shoemaker residence where they removed the mirror from the bathroom where the father had died and examined the back of it with a black light to find the name ‘Linda Shoemaker’ written on the back. Their next move was to talk with Donna to figure out who exactly Linda was but she was being very resistant to their questioning.

            “Why are you asking me this?”

            “Look, we’re sorry,” Sam apologized, “but it’s important.”

            “Yeah. Linda’s my mom okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that’s it. I think you should leave.” She declared forcefully.

            “Now Donna, just listen-” Dean opened gently but was interrupted.

            “Get out of my house!” Donna shouted before storming from the room.

            There was a moment of stunned silence before Charlie said, “Oh my god. Do you really think her dad could’ve killed her mom?”

            “Maybe.” Talia declared thoughtfully.

            “I think I should stick around.” Charlie announced.

            “All right.” Dean agreed, “Whatever you do, don’t-”

            “Believe me,” she interrupted with passion, “I won’t say it.”

            Talia and the boys then gave their goodbyes and returned to their motel room to regroup and do some further research based on the new information they’d discovered. Talia and Sam looked at various papers relating to the case that they had pinned on the wall while Dean took a turn on Sam’s laptop as he broadened their search for mysterious deaths of women named Mary but Sam questioned his methods.

            “Wait, wait, wait, you’re doing a nationwide search?”

            “Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database-at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me.” Dean’s frustration at their previous lack of results bled through into his voice.

            “But if she’s haunting this town, she should have died in the town.” Sam argued.

            “I’m telling you,” Dean explained with exasperation, “there’s nothing local, I’ve checked. So unless you got a better idea…” He trailed off with a look at Sam who came closer to where he was sitting.

            “The way Mary’s choosing her victims, it seems like there’s a pattern.” Talia spoke up to interrupt the dispute.

            “I know,” Dean said as he turned to face her, “I was thinking the same thing.”

            “With both Mr. Shoemaker and Jill’s hit and run…”

            “Both had secrets where people died.” Dean finished.

            “Right.” Sam agreed with them. “There’s a lot of folklore about mirrors; that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they’re a true reflection of your soul,” Sam informed them, “which is why it’s bad luck to break them.”

            “Right, right. So maybe if you’ve got a secret,” Dean guessed, “I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it.”

            “Regardless of whether you’re the one that summoned her or not.” Talia added.

            Dean looked over something on the laptop screen in front of them before he announced, “Take a look at this” and turned the screen for Talia and Sam to see the image of a woman lying in a puddle of blood by a mirror and then another picture of a bloody handprint.

            “Looks like the same handprint.” Sam voiced what they were all thinking.

            “Yeah. Her name was Mary Worthington. She was an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana.”

            They spent the rest of the evening driving over to Indiana to talk with the detective that had handled the case and ended up finding him in his home as he had retired from the force already.  Posing as reporters, the three of them managed to get him to open up about the case and his suspicions about who had actually killed Mary Worthington.

            “I was on the job for 35 years, detective for most of that. Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder, that one still gets me.” The man explained to them.

            “What exactly happened?” Dean inquired which cause the man to look at them with suspicion and inquire harshly:  
            “You three said you were reporters?”

            Sam and Dean exchanged scared looks but Talia stepped forth, grateful for once of her self-inflicted insomnia that meant she had spent the ride over here reading up about the case as she offered the information:

            “We know Mary was 19 and lived by herself. We also know that she won a few local beauty contests and she dream of getting out of Indiana, being an actress.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “And we know that the night of March 29th, someone broke into her apartment and murdered her and cut out her eyes with a knife.”

            The detective looked impressed and the suspicion left his eyes as he said, “That’s right.”

            Sam sent her a thankful look at her quick save as Dean further covered their mistake, “See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what _you_ think happened.”

            Instead of replying immediately, the man led them to another room where he looked through a filing cabinet in search of something before removing an old cardboard box that was filled with various folders and files.

            “Technically,” he announced as he reached for a specific folder, “I’m not supposed to have a copy of this.” He opened the file to a picture of a mirror that was the same photo Dean had found earlier on the computer. “Now see that there? T-R-E?” The detective indicated to the letters written in blood on the mirror. “I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer.” He explained.

            “You know who it was?” Talia asked excitedly.

            “Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon named Trevor Sampson.” He reached into the box to pull out a photo of the man to show to them. “And I think he cut her up good.”

            “Now why would he do something like that?” Sam inquired.

            “Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing.” The detective revealed, “She called him by his initial ‘T’. Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell T’s wife about their affair.”

            “Yeah but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?” Dean questioned further.

            “It’s hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out…it was almost professional.”

            “But you could never prove it?” Talia guessed.

            “No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous.”

            “Is he still alive?”

            “Nope.” The man sighed tiredly before continuing, “If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy’s secret. But never could.”

            Talia looked at both Sam and Dean as she communicated through her eyes the same thought that they all had. This was exactly the case they were looking for and Sam asked the next obvious question they would need:

            “Where’s she buried?”

            “She wasn’t, she was cremated.”

            Talia saw Sam and Dean look crestfallen at this news but as she stared at the photo a thought came to her, “What about that mirror” She nodded to the picture, “It’s not in some evidence lockup somewhere is it?”

            “Ah, no. It was returned to Mary’s family a long time ago.”

            Talia nearly groaned, of course it couldn’t be that easy. “You have the names of her family by any chance?”

            Once the detective had given them the name, they took their leave and got back on the road again to head back to Ohio while Sam called up Mary’s family to try and locate the mirror. Talia was sitting the back and staring aimlessly out the window until she heard the snap of Sam hanging up the phone and she sat up eagerly as she asked him.

            “So?”

            “So that was Mary’s brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in Toledo.”

            “So wherever the mirror goes, that’s where Mary goes?” Talia suggested.

            “Her spirit’s definitely tied up with it somehow.” Sam agreed with her.

            Dean spoke up as he drove, “Isn’t there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?”

            “Yeah there is. When someone would die in a house, people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn’t get trapped.” Sam explained.

            “So,” Dean continued his train of thought, “Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit.”

            “Yeah,” Talia agreed before contending, “but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?”

            “I don’t know,” Dean conceded, “but if the mirror is the source, I saw we find it and smash it.”

            “Yeah, I don’t know, maybe.” Sam hesitantly agreed and the three of them lapsed into a brief silence until Sam’s phone went off with a soft ringing sound and he flipped it open and answered it with a quick, “Hello.”

            Talia watched him with curiosity as his brow furrowed in confusion before the next word he uttered, “Charlie?”

            From the side of the conversation that Talia could hear, she figured the girl must be distraught as Sam tried to calm her down over the phone before he told her to stay put and that they would come by to pick her up.

            When they arrived at Charlie’s location, which was right outside a high school, they found the girl sitting on the curb with her head buried into knees as her shoulders shook.  Sam immediately jumped out of the car and ran to her side while Talia got out to slide into the passenger seat so Sam could lead the distraught girl into the back and sit by her.

            Charlie seemed terrified and it took Sam a couple minutes of coaxing to get her to stand up and follow him and the entire time she refused to open her eyes while she blubbered about seeing Bloody Mary and how she was gonna die. After Sam finally got her into the backseat, Dean sped off headed towards their motel room and Charlie finally managed to tell them what had happened.  Apparently she had been in class when she’d seen Bloody Mary in a mirror and she had freaked out before sprinting out of the classroom and calling Sam.

            At this point they got back to the motel and Dean led Talia into their room where the two of them hurried to cover any reflective surface they found with blankets. Sam brought Charlie in, the latter still clenching her eyes shut, before he helped Talia and Dean with their task.

            Charlie had sat down on a bed and wrapped her arms around her knees before burying her head in her knees, much like they had found her at the school and Sam approached her cautiously.

            “Hey, hey it’s ok.” He called softly as he sat next to her. “Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It’s okay, all right?”

            The girl reluctantly raised her head and Talia let Sam talk to her as she and Dean did one last scan of the room to make sure they had gotten rid of or covered everything in the room.

            “Now listen.” Sam continued to speak to the terrified girl, “You’re gonna stay right here on this bed, and you’re not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you.”

            “But I can’t keep that up forever. I’m gonna die, aren’t I?” She spoke hoarsely.

            “No.” Sam declared vehemently, “No. Not anytime soon.”

            Talia and Dean, who had finished scanning the room, finally approached the bed  and Dean declared:

            “All right Charlie. We need to know what happened.”

            “We were in the bathroom. Donna said it.”

            Talia interrupted her, “That’s not what we’re talking about. Something happened in your life, didn’t it? You have a secret…where someone got hurt. You need to tell us about it.”

            Charlie looked at Talia before beginning, “I had this boyfriend. I loved him, but he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and said he needed me and he loved me. Then he said ‘Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I’m gonna kill myself.’ And you know what I said?” She looked down distraughtly, “I said ‘Go ahead’. And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just…I didn’t believe him; you know? I should have.”

            She buried her head again as fresh sobs wracked her body and at this point Talia figured they weren’t going to get anything else from her. The three of them, sans Charlie, stood up and decided to continue with their original plan to head to the antique store where the Worthington family had sold the mirror. They gathered some supplies before making their exit while reassuring Charlie that she should just stay there where she would be safe while they went to end Bloody Mary’s spree once and for all.


	18. Chapter 18

            It was pouring rain out and night had fallen as Talia and the Winchester brothers drove to the local antique store to locate the original Bloody Mary mirror and hopefully end the spirit’s killing spree. Per the usual, Talia was lounging across the backseat as Dean drove and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was safe to lay across the backseat without a seatbelt on but Dean was a great driver and she wasn’t worried about ever getting in a car crash.

            The silence that had fallen over the car was broken up by Dean voicing his thoughts, “You know her boyfriend killing himself, that’s not really Charlie’s fault.”

            “You know as well as I do spirits don’t exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that’s good enough for Mary.”

            “I guess.”

            “You know, I’ve been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror.” Sam announced carefully.

            “Why, what do you mean?” Talia inquired curiously from the back.

            “Well Mary’s hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who’s to say that she’s not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it.”

            “Well how do you know that’s going to work?” Dean asked skeptically.

            “I don’t, not for sure.”

            Dean looked over a Sam as he asked. “Well who’s gonna summon her?”

            Sam stared straight ahead and said so lowly that Talia could barely hear it, “I will. She’ll come after me.”

            His words caused Talia to shoot up into a sitting position as she stared at Sam in shock as she exclaimed, “What!?”

            “You know what, that’s it.” Dean proclaimed as he pulled the car over to the side of the road and threw it into park before turning in his seat to face Sam who was refusing to look at him. “This is about Jessica, isn’t it? You think that’s your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow?  Sam, this has got to stop, man.” Dean’s voice rose with his anger, “I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night-it’s gonna kill you.”

            Talia sat awkwardly in the backseat as she wasn’t really sure what to say. She knew exactly where Dean was coming from and she too was concerned for Sam but at the same time, she understood exactly what Sam was going through, better than either of them even knew.

            “Now you listen to me,” Dean continued strongly, “It wasn’t your fault. If you want to blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don’t you take a swing at me? I mean I’m the one that dragged you away from her in the first place.”

            Sam turned to look at Dean for the first time, “I don’t blame you.”

            “Well you shouldn’t blame yourself,” Dean declared in frustration, “because there’s nothing you could’ve done.”

            “I could’ve warned her.” Sam stated lowly and the guilt and self-hatred was evident in his tone.

            “About what?” Dean exclaimed in exasperation, “You didn’t know what was gonna happen! And besides, all of this isn’t a secret, I mean I know all about it and so does Talia. It’s not gonna work with Mary anyway.”

            “No you don’t.”

            “I don’t what?” Dean questioned.

            “You don’t know all about it. I haven’t told you everything.” Sam declared.

            “What the hell are you talking about?” Talia nearly shouted from the backseat and both brothers looked back at her in surprise as if they had forgotten she was there.

            “Well it wouldn’t really be a secret if I told you, would it?” Sam replied snidely and Talia frowned at him while Dean looked surprised before he stated:

            “No. I don’t like it. It’s not gonna happen, forget it.”

            “Dean that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it.” Sam argued, “And you know what? Who knows how many people are gonna die after that?” He paused for a moment before turning towards Dean once more. “Now we’re doing this. You’ve got to let me do this.”

            Talia looked at Dean’s face to see him visibly struggling with the idea and she offered up her opinion, “I don’t like this either but Dean, I think Sam is right. I don’t know of any other way to do this.”

            Dean finally sighed in annoyance before he turned towards the wheel and started the car, pulling back onto the road again without another word and Talia took that to signal his agreement with the plan.

            They pulled up to the shop minutes later and Talia was fiddling with her lock picks as she worked on unlocking the front door. She had a rather strange aptitude for lock picking which she had discovered at a young age when Dean had taught a nine-year-old Talia the skill. She had picked it up extremely quickly and soon surpassed Dean in the skill which had come in handy in many situations over the years as people never seemed to suspect a young girl of being capable of such a thing.

            She unlocked the door with ease and the three of them entered the dark store cautiously; the only light coming from the moon shining through the windows. Sam was shining a flashlight around and revealed countless mirrors that seemed to be placed everywhere around the store and caused Dean to groan in annoyance:

            “Well…that’s just great.” He pulled out the photo of Mary’s body in front of the mirror where she’d died and showed it to Talia and Sam before announcing, “All right, let’s start looking.”

            The three of them split up to start looking and Talia wandered through the rather expansive store looking for the mirror. She was getting a creepy vibe from the place and she walked down aisles scanning for the specific mirror while also trying to avoid looking directly into any of them.

            “Maybe they’ve already sold it.” Dean’s voice called out from somewhere nearby.

            “I don’t think so.” Sam’s reply had Talia heading over to where his voice had come from.

            She walked up to find Dean and Sam both looking at a large ornate mirror that was resting on the ground and comparing it to the photo before Dean confirmed, “That’s it.” He then pocketed the photo once more before asking Sam, “You sure about this?”

            Sam didn’t reply and merely handed Dean the flashlight and stepped closer to the mirror while Talia and Dean stood a couple feet behind him, side by side. Sam took a deep breath before chanting, “Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.” He stopped for a moment and looked back at Talia and Dean before readjusting his grip on the crowbar he was holding and hefting it up against his shoulder. “Bloody Mary.”

            A shiver of fear ran down Talia’s back as he finished and she grabbed Dean’s arm with her left hand while her right clenched tightly onto her crowbar as she anxiously waited for Bloody Mary to appear. The flash of a light in the corner of her eye caused Talia to turn around and tug Dean with her. There was a light coming from outside that was shining through into the store. Sam noticed it as well and they all turned to face it before Dean declared, “I’ll go check that out.” He turned to Sam, “Stay here, be careful.”

            “I’ll come with, in case you need help getting rid of whoever that is.” Talia said to Dean and as he opened his mouth as if to argue she cut him off, “They’re gonna be less suspicious of a young girl than they are of you.”

            “Fine. Let’s go.” Dean announced as he led the way back to the front of the store.

            Talia turned to Sam before she followed and whispered, “Smash anything that moves.” She then stalked silently after Dean as they crept forward to investigate the source of the light.

            Getting to the front of the store they peered around a corner and discovered a headlight shining through the glass windows that was blindingly bright after the darkness from before.

            “Shit.” Dean exclaimed before he hurriedly ducked back around the corner, pulling Talia with him. “I think it’s the cops.”

            “What do you wanna do?” Talia asked.

            Dean appeared to be throwing together an idea as he stashed the crowbar he was holding on a nearby shelf before turning to Talia and ordering, “You stay right here and don’t move. I’m going to go talk to them and try and get them to leave.”

            Talia huffed at his orders and watched Dean stand up straight and walk casually towards the door. She waited until the door swung shut behind him before she crept up to the door and hid under the small amount of wall under the windows as she peered out to keep an eye on Dean in case he needed help.

            She saw two officers with their guns drawn standing outside their car and she watched nervously as they turned to point their guns at Dean and appeared to be questioning him.  She remained still as she watched the interaction, unable to hear what was being said as the voices were muffled through the glass.

            As time continued to tick by, it didn’t appear as if Dean was getting anywhere as the officers still had their guns drawn and so Talia decided it was time to intervene. She sighed before standing up completely and doing a little shake to prepare herself she stepped out through the door slowly as to not startle the officers.

            The jingle of the door opening caused all three men to turn to her in surprise although Dean’s face soon morphed into anger at her presence but she ignored his glare as she smiled slightly at the policemen.

            “I’m so sorry officers for the trouble but this is just a misunderstanding. You see my idiot boyfriend here,” Talia walked up to Dean and slung her arm around his waist, “forgot about the alarm system and tripped it off when he unlocked the door. You’d think after working here for so long he’d remember such a thing.” She scoffed lightly as if amazed at his stupidity before she looked back at the officers with as innocent as an expression as she could manage.

            Dean quickly rolled with the lie that Talia had begun and worked with it as he saw the officers still looking skeptical. “Like I said, it’s my dad’s place and we were just looking for a quiet spot to, you know…” He trailed off suggestively with a smirk and Talia felt a rush of heat to her cheeks at the implication and she didn’t have to feign embarrassment at Dean’s words as she smacked him upside the head.

            The cops were beginning to lower their guns slowly and seemed to believe their story but then one of them looked at Dean and asked, “You’re Mr. Yamashiro’s kid?”

            “Yeah.” Dean said quickly but then looked at Talia as they both knew that they needed to get back inside to help Sam quickly and didn’t have time for this. A nod of understanding passed between them before Talia slowly and casually slipped her arm from around Dean’s back and put a little bit of space between them as she readied herself.

            Dean kept the attention of himself as he rambled and let Talia edge closer to the officer closest to her as he did the same to the other policeman. “I just really don’t have time for this right now.”

            As soon as he stopped talking, Talia took this as the cue and turned abruptly to swing a punch at the cop next to her, throwing all of her weight into it.  In one hit the man was down for the count and she felt a bit of pride that she’d taken him out in one hit. Turning back to Dean she saw that he had knocked out the other officer and he grinned at her:

            “Nice punch, little wolf.”

            “Thanks,” she smirked before growing serious, “now let’s go help Sam.”

            They sprinted back inside, grabbing their discarded crowbars on the way, and hurried back to where they left Sam to find him knelt on the floor in front of a small mirror. His reflection was standing upright with blood pouring out of its eyes and looking down on him maliciously.

            Dean ran forward with a yell as he swung his crowbar into the mirror, shattering it completely and then knelt down next to his brother to check on him. Seeing that Sam was safe, Talia turned to look at the large mirror on the floor where it remained intact, curious as to why Mary hadn’t attacked Sam in that one.

            As she stared at it in confusion she noticed her reflection turn its head to the side and its face take on an angry stare as it declared viciously, “You killed him. You murdered your own father! You killed him with your own hands!” Talia felt blood running down her face from her eyes and a searing pain wrack her head but she couldn’t move a muscle as terror overwhelmed her body and paralyzed her.

             “You knew something was going to happen, you could feel it. But you ignored it, didn’t you? Instead you called out for daddy to come save you when you were scared and then you killed him.”  Talia felt blood pouring from her eyes in such quantities that she could barely see and the pain wracking her head was unbearable. Yet nothing was as bad as the flood of grief, sorrow and utterly devastating guilt and it was these emotions, along with the pain, that knocked her breath away as she collapsed to her knees while the reflection continued to torment her with her worst memory:

            “He would still be alive if he hadn’t come for you. If you hadn’t called, he would never have been home and you’d never have put your murderous hands on him.”

            The sound of shattering glass rang out once more as the mirror in front of her went the same route as the other one and broke into a million pieces as Dean stood their huffing, his trusty crowbar in hand once more. Talia barely noticed the change as she knelt in shock and stared forward blankly, tears mixing with the blood that ran down her face.

            Suddenly Dean’s face was in front of hers and he was gripping her shoulders as he called her name, “Talia, Talia are you okay? Dammit little wolf, answer me!”

            It took her a moment to gather herself and she slowly focused her eyes on Dean’s face as she nodded, unable to speak at the moment. Sam soon entered her field of vision and she could see the streams of blood that ran down his face as well and she absently wondered if she looked the same.

            “God, are you okay?”

            Once again Talia could only nod numbly and she reached out a hand which Dean quickly grabbed and used to help pull her to her feet where she swayed for a moment before he wrapped his arm around her waist to support her. She could see Sam on Dean’s other side, leaning on him a bit as well and in the back of her mind she felt bad for making Dean take care of the both of them as he led the three of them towards the exit.

            The sound of crunching glass behind them halted their progress and they all turned around to see Bloody Mary herself had crawled out of the frame of her broken mirror and was stumbling towards their group.

            Talia gasped as she felt fresh blood pour down her face and she fell down once more as the same pain ravished her body. She heard the boys do the same next to her and she groaned heavily under the pain as she struggled on the ground.

            Next to her, also panting from pain, she saw Dean grab desperately onto a nearby mirror and turning it to face Mary so she was forced to stare at her own reflection. A raspy voice then called out, “You killed them! All those people! You killed them!”

            Talia then watched in sick fascination as Mary started choking before melting into a pile of blood on the floor which transformed into a shattered pile of glass, adding to the bits of broken mirror that was scattered everywhere.

            Dean hurriedly throw down the mirror in his hands, breaking it as well. With Bloody Mary gone, the pain stopped and the three of them sat up tiredly from where they had fallen onto the floor. Talia watched Dean peer around at the destruction surrounding them before he asked:

            “Hey guys?”

            “Yeah?” Sam spoke up feebly.

            “This has got to be like…what? 600 years of bad luck?” Dean commented wryly.

            Sam chuckled weakly next to her at Dean’s attempt at humor and Talia huffed before collapsing backwards to lay on the floor in exhaustion. The three of them sat in silent contemplation for several moments and Dean was the first one to stir as he heaved himself to his feet.

            Talia watched tiredly from the floor as she saw him look around before he walked over to retrieve his crowbar from where it lay discarded on the ground from when he’d smashed the mirror.  He bent over to pick it up and as he straightened he froze and Talia followed his line of sight to see him staring at the empty frame that was once Bloody Mary’s mirror.

            The sight of the shattered mirror caused emotion to flood through Talia’s body and a wave of grief stabbed her heart in a sharp pain that was all too familiar to her.  She rolled away from the sight and curled into a ball on her side as if that could protect her from the guilt and self-hatred that had been brought forth by Bloody Mary’s taunting attack.

            She thought she had repressed those memories far enough into the back of her brain so they couldn’t hurt her anymore yet her she was aching with hurt once more.  The slight crunching sound of glass underfoot alerted her to Dean walking close to her and as she felt him start to lay a hand on her shoulder she shied away from his touch, disguising the movement by rolling over to push herself shakily to her feet.

            However, as she turned and faced Dean and Sam, who was now on his feet as well, she saw their faces furrow in sympathy and pity and it wasn’t until that moment that she realized tears were streaking down her face. She quickly turned away and walked over to where her own crowbar was lying on the ground, wiping her face with her sleeve as she tried to get a hold on her emotions.

            The boys seemed to agree to give her space and the group gathered all their belongings in silence before exiting the shop through the front door, careful to avoid the two cops who were still unconscious on the ground. Talia kept her head down as they trudged towards the Impala and after throwing her stuff in the trunk she quickly walked to the back and slid into the backseat to avoid any attempts at conversation. She quickly procured her headphones and jammed them into her ears as she pulled out her iPod so that by the time the Winchesters crawled into the car she was sitting with her head against the window, eyes closed and music blaring loud enough that she couldn’t hear them.

            Had she been in a laughing mood she would have been amused at the irony as Bleeding Out by the Imagine Dragons was the first song to come on. As it was, she was merely grateful for the noise that helped her ignore the two men who she was sure were sending her looks from the front of the car.

            Sometime later, Talia sat up as she felt the car come to a halt and she figured they had arrived back at the motel.  As she entered the room behind Dean, she saw Charlie passed out in a chair where she must have fallen asleep waiting for them to return.  Watching the girl’s chest rise and fall evenly, Talia envied the girl for how peaceful she looked as she knew that there was no way she was going to try and sleep tonight after everything that had happened.

            Per the usual, Talia sat back on a bed to wait as both boys showered and cleaned up first so she could take as long as she needed without them having to wait on her.  When the bathroom was finally vacated, she grabbed the pile of clothes she’d laid out and slipped into the bathroom, shutting the door closed behind her.

            She avoided looking at herself in the mirror, knowing she was a mess and instead hopped straight into the shower. She spent five minutes just letting the warm water run down her skin and leave a trail of goosebumps in its wake as she shivered at the soothing warmth it provided. As she watched the water swirling down the drain run red with blood, she raised shaky hands to her face to wipe at the dried blood beneath her eyes and it was in that moment that she finally allowed herself to fall apart.

            She slowly sank to the bottom of the shower as she sobbed although she made sure to not be loud enough to alert the people just on the other side of the bathroom door.  She bent her knees, curling her arms around her legs as she hid her head in her knees and allowed all tears to stream down her face. The warm water that continued to beat down on her head was an odd contrast to the cold sharp pain that seemed to radiate from her heart into every bone of her body and it felt as fresh as it had 11 years ago when she’d first felt it.

            Talia wasn’t sure how long she sat there but eventually she ran out of tears to cry and exhaustion dulled the ache to the familiar, more manageable level and she rose to her feet to finish cleaning up in the now chilly water.  She finished washing up and then took as long as she possible could to dry off and get dressed in hopes that by the time she was done both Winchesters would have fallen asleep.

            She would put money on the fact that Dean, if not Sam as well, had been determined to wait for her to come out so he could confront her on what had gone down with Bloody Mary. Her plan was to take as long as possible to clean up so that by the time she was done, the exhaustion from the night’s events had pulled both men into a deep slumber and she could escape the questions that she had no desire to answer.

            She cracked open the bathroom door hesitantly as she peeked her head out to look into the room only to let out a sigh of relief when she saw that all three of the room’s occupants were asleep.  Charlie was still curled up in one of the chairs, Sam was sprawled out on one of the beds and Dean was snoring from where he was reclined on the other bed and Talia was relieved that they were all peacefully slumbering away.

            Stuffing her dirty clothes into her bag on the floor, she grabbed some cash and then silently exited the room to find a convenience store where she could stock up on caffeine and sugar to aid her in mission to stay awake all night.  She knew exactly which nightmare would torment her if she dared to close her eyes for but a moment and so she knew she would have to stay awake despite the exhaustion dragging her down.

            The occasional streetlight provided illumination in the otherwise pitch black night air and she stuffed her hands into her sweatshirt pocket to ward off the chilly air as she prepared herself for the long evening ahead of her.

 

* * *

 

Hey dudes, quick author's note:

You guys should check out this supernatural music video I made for Bleeding Out by the Imagine Dragons. The music video itself has no relevance to this story but the song does so I recommend giving it a listen after reading this chapter. Also quick forewarning on a spoiler alert in the video for Seasons 9 & 10\. Here's the link for the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zopgsiId4xM


	19. Chapter 19

            Dean pulled the Impala to a stop in front of Charlie’s home the next morning as they dropped the girl back off at her home now that she was safe from harm. He turned to the car off and then turned to face the aforementioned girl.

            “So this is really over?” Charlie spoke up from the backseat.

            “Yeah.” Dean nodded in confirmation. “It’s over.”

            “Thank you.”

            Dean reached back to shake her hand, careful to not disturb Talia who was slumped against the back window, sleeping. He watched as the girl got out of the car and headed towards her home before Sam called out to her:

            “Charlie?” The girl turned around, “Your boyfriend’s death…you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn’t have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen.”

            Dean snorted at the hypocritical speech his brother had just given but he waited till Charlie had gone inside before he gently smacked Sam on the shoulder. “That’s good advice.”

            Sam chuckled lightly in amusement and they exchanged smirks before Dean turned the key in the ignition and the Impala roared to life. Dean pushed his foot down on the gas pedal and drove off in silence for a moment before he finally brought up what had been bothering him all day. “Hey Sam?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is.” Dean demanded, not liking that there was something about his brother that he didn’t know.

            “Look…you’re my brother and I’d die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself.” Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Sam staring out the window fixedly at something for a moment before he seemed to shake it off and turn back to Dean once more. “Speaking of keeping things secret, what the hell happened with Talia and Bloody Mary? What secret could she possibly have?”

            At his brother’s words, Dean glanced into the rearview mirror and cast an affectionate look at the girl who was still dozing with her face pressed against the window.  He had seen her nodding off as soon as they’d gotten into the car and she had fallen asleep minutes into the drive. She must have been sleeping deeply because Dean hadn’t seen her stir once despite their conversation and the loud roar of the Impala’s engine.

            He was glad she was getting some sleep after staying up all night. He had caught her slipping quietly into the motel room a little bit after sunrise and one glance at the undisturbed bed sheets next to him told him that she had never gone to bed that night.  However, he had let it slide without comment because he didn’t want to start anything with Charlie there.

            Realizing he had yet to answer his brother’s question, Dean turned to him and said, “I don’t know man. All I know is one second I’m helping you and then I hear her scream and you know who is going after Talia too.”

            “Do you have any idea what she could have been talking about? I was too out of it to hear what she was saying.”

            Dean shook his head before amending, “No but, I think she said something about her dad but that’s crazy, right?” Dean looked over at Sam hesitantly, “There’s no way she could blame herself for his death?”

            Sam seemed just as appalled at the idea as Dean was as he replied, “I don’t know, but whatever it is she seems really shaken up about it. I know you noticed she didn’t sleep last night and she hasn’t spoken a word since it happened.  Did she ever mention anything to you about her dad’s death when we were younger?”

            “No. Not that I remember. I just remember her being traumatized and not talking for a week afterward.  Maybe it’s just the reminder that’s hitting her hard considering yesterday was the anniversary of when it happened.” Dean looked back at the girl in question once more to see her stirring restlessly in her sleep before he added, “Whatever it is, I aim to find out once she wakes up.”

            That moment came sooner than either of them expected as they started to hear Talia mumbling and Sam turned around to see her thrashing around in distress.  She fell over from where she’d previously been sitting up but she remained asleep as she continued to flail her arms as if trying to fight someone off while she shouted:

            “No! No!”

            “Dean! Pull over!” Sam cried out as he watched Talia with concern.

            Dean slammed on the brakes as her jerked the wheel over and pulled the car to a jerky halt at the side of the road while Sam leaned over the seat and tried to wake Talia up as he called her name. Dean was about to rip open the driver’s side door and rush to the backseat when she jerked upright and let out an ear piercing scream that had both brothers clamping their hands over their ear and wincing.

 

* * *

 

(Talia’s POV)

 

            Talia snuck back into the room just after dawn and winced when she saw Dean roll over and make eye contact with her but she chose to ignore it as she tossed the wrappers from her breakfast in the trash.  She then packed up all her stuff into her duffle bag and then slouched into a chair to wait for everyone else to wake up.

            She was having no problem keeping awake until they all piled into the Impala to drop Charlie off at her house on their way out of town.  She leaned her head against the cool window which felt refreshing on her forehead but the soothing sound of the Impala’s engine and the rumbling of the road combined to drag her unwilling into the sleep she was trying to avoid at all costs. Sure enough, as she predicted, the moment her eyes closed her brain replayed for her the worst memory of her entire life.

 

_Talia bolted upright in bed with a shriek as she awoke from a nightmare.  Moments later her father rushed into the room and hurried over to pick her up into his arms as he murmured reassurances to her, “It’s alright sweetie. It’s okay, you’re safe. Daddy’s here and nothing is gonna hurt you.”_

_He continued to rub her back soothingly as she buried her head in the crook of his neck and clung to him tightly with her hands wrapped around the back of his neck while she cried. After a few minutes she finally stopped crying and he pulled her back a bit to look at her face as he asked her gently:_

_“You alright now?” She nodded mutely in response and he took a glance at the clock to see how much time he had until he had to get to work before he suggested, “How about Daddy makes you some birthday waffles for breakfast, hmm?”_

_Talia’s eyes lit up with excitement at the suggestion and she was immediately distracted from the sickening sense of dread she had woken up with. She heard her dad chuckle as he carried her into the kitchen of their small home and he set her down on the stool at the kitchen counter. She watched eagerly as he pulled out the ingredients required to make waffle batter and set them on the counter before getting out the waffle iron as well._

_Talia insisted upon helping mix the batter and her father allowed her to despite the mess it created when she flung flour everywhere with her vigorous stirring.  It was worth it for the loud giggle she let loose when some of the flour landed on his face._

_20 minutes later, the two of them were sitting across from each other and chowing down on their homemade waffles contently with the occasional laugh echoing from Talia as she watched her dad get syrup on his face. However, the happiness had to end eventually and after glancing at his watch, Caleb stood up to clean up the mess in the kitchen before he had to leave._

_Talia frowned as she watched her dad get ready to leave and the bad feeling in her gut from when she’d woken up rose up again with a vengeance and she didn’t completely understand why but something inside of her was screaming at her to not let her dad out of her sight.  As her dad bent down to hug her goodbye she found herself crying uncontrollably again as she clung fiercely to him in a hug._

_Surprised, he hugged her back just as tightly as he reassured her, “I’m sorry honey but you know I have to go. Daddy’s got to go to work but you’ll be fine. Mrs. Morrison is just next door if you need anything.”_

_She couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling so she simply cried, “Please don’t go!”_

_“I’ll be fine, Talia. I promise I’m never going to leave you. Besides, you’ll only be alone for a little bit, remember? John’s coming by with Dean and Sam today to celebrate your birthday.” Caleb reminded her softly and Talia grinned widely at the reminder that she would soon be able to see her two best friends although her eyes still had a sadness beyond her years that stung Caleb to see in his young daughter._

_“See, everything will be fine.” He raised his hand in a fist in front of him and she did their customary fist bump followed by both of them making explosion noises and as he stood up to leave he rubbed the top of her head. He stopped on his way out the door and turned to her with a smile, “Oh, and Happy 8 th Birthday, kiddo!”_

_Caleb exited the home to leave for work feeling totally secure in the fact that his daughter would be fine alone in the couple hours until John got there. She was surprisingly mature for her age and after hanging with the two Winchester boys she had become rather independent and he was never worried about leaving her alone for a while. Plus, their kindly old neighbor Mrs. Morrison was right next door if anything bad happened._

_Talia watched her dad leave through the window in her room before she turned around to find something to do while she waited for Dean and Sam to get there.  She was soon engrossed in reading one of her favorite books from the collection in her room and she didn’t know how much time had passed until the sharp ringing of the phone startled her and she looked up to see it was the middle of the afternoon._

_Hurrying to answer the phone she realized that the Winchesters should have been here by now and she wondered where they were. Her question was answered when she picked up the phone to hear Dean’s voice on the other end. He apologized profusely and said their dad had caught a case, whatever that meant, and that they weren’t going to make it for her birthday after all._

_Talia’s heart fell at the news but she could tell that Dean felt bad so she forced a light tone as she promised him it wasn’t a big deal and then quickly hung up the phone.  She looked around the house wondering what to do next while she tried to not focus on how she was now going to be alone all day on her birthday._

_She eventually went back to reading and passed the rest of the day trying to ignore the ominous feeling of dread that had settled in her gut and rose with each passing minute.  Evening was just settling and the last rays of light from the sun still stretched across the sky and as Talia stared out the window lost in thought, a cloud of black smoke streamed past the window in a blur._

_Talia let out a small scream as she fell backwards in surprise landing on the floor with a small thud as her heart raced in her chest. She raced over to the second window in her room and cautiously peered out only for a similar cloud to streak past just a few moments later.  True panic set in and Talia yanked the curtains shut in terror before she raced downstairs to the kitchen phone._

_She grabbed the phone in a hurry to follow her first instinct to call her dad but hesitated at the last minute because she knew he didn’t like to be disturbed while working unless it was an absolute emergency.  She sat there for minutes debating when all of a sudden the kitchen lights began flickering back and forth until they went out completely._

_Talia let out a scream of fear before hastily dialing her father’s number while tears of fear streaked down her face. Her dad picked up after the first ring but Talia couldn’t find the words to speak through her terror._

_“Talia, baby is that you? Is everything okay?”  When is only response was the sound of Talia’s sobs his voice grew frantic, “What’s wrong? Talia honey talk to me, what’s going on!?”_

_Talia finally managed to blurt out between her cries, “I don’t know! Daddy I’m scared!  There was smoke…and then the lights-” She let out a sharp gasp as she heard a rattling sound from somewhere else in the house before she begged, “Please come home!”_

_“Okay sweetie! I’ll be right there! I’m leaving right now, just hold on. Daddy will be home as soon as he can.”  There was a loud click on the other line as he hung up and Talia immediately dropped the phone back onto the counter before rushing into her room to hide under the blankets on her bed._

_After what seemed like an eternity later, Talia heard the sound of the front door closing and she threw off the blankets in a hurry as she sprinted into the hallway and ran straight into her dad’s legs.  He held onto her as she clutched his legs and he questioned gently, “Hey, I’m here. Now will you tell me what it was that scared you so bad?”_

_Talia turned up to face him and explain when her eyes widened in terror once more as she spotted the black smoke hovering just over his shoulder. She pointed at it in shock causing her dad to turn around sharply before he shoved Talia behind him protectively and pushed her back as he took a step forward.  She watched in shock as the smoke swirled forward and floated just above her dad’s head as he cried out for her to run before it flooded into his mouth._

_Silence rained and then she saw her dad turn around slowly with a sick smile on his face that she had never seen before as he let out a mad laugh._

_“Daddy?” She asked cautiously._

_Her dad threw out a hand towards her and she felt herself fly backwards into the wall with a smack and she cried out in pain and shock.  Confusion flooded her body and she couldn’t believe that her dad had attacked her as she cried out for him to stop but he ignored her pleas and wrapped his hand in a vice-like grip around her throat._

_She gasped in shock as she struggled in pain and scratched at his throat as she tried to get some air into her lungs as blackness swum in her eyes. Just as she felt that she would pass out she felt something snap within her and a flood of energy swept through her body.  She felt her hand fly up of its own accord and some instinct made her press it against her dad’s forehead as she felt the energy build within her to painful levels._

_She thought she would die for the burning pain but then it all seemed to channel out through her hand and she screamed at the burning sensation as a bright light blinded her for a moment. It seemed to last forever before she felt all the energy was gone leaving her feeling like a burnt out husk._

_As she gasped for breath it took her a moment to realize that she was lying on the floor in a heap and was no longer being held against the wall. She spotted her dad lying next to her and she crawled over to him hoping he would comfort her like he always did and tell her that it was just another one of her nightmares._

_As she shook his body and called his name, his head lolled over to face her and she screamed as she saw that his eyes were just burnt holes in his face. She frantically shook him again as she called out:_

_“Daddy! Daddy, please wake up! No! No!”_

* * *

 

            “No! No!”

            Talia surged upwards as she screamed out, her heart racing and tears pouring down her face as the dream replayed in her mind.  The enclosed space felt choking and her racing eyes immediately spotted the door which she pried open and then darted outside.  There was a forest nearby by and she sprinted into the woods blindly as she tried to escape the memory.  Tears blurred her vision as she ran and she didn’t see the large branch in front of her until it was too late and she tripped over it and sprawled out on the ground.

            Her tears turned into helpless giggles as she couldn’t believe that she had tripped. She was just like the stereotypical helpless girl in a horror movie that trips while being chased.  The giggles soon elevated into hysterical laughter and she couldn’t stop laughing as she lay on the floor.

            Moments later Dean came stumbling through the forest and he stopped dead in front of her when he noticed her on the ground.  Her rather maniacal laughter returned with greater strength as she was sure she made quite the sight; lying on the dirt covered floor of the forest with leaves in her hair and laughing hysterically with tears still streaming down her face.

            “Sam! I found her!” Dean called out once he seemed to get over the shock of seeing her.  He walked forward cautiously with his hands out, like someone approaching a wild animal as he spoke gently to her. “Talia, are you okay?”

            She nodded in response and he seemed to take this as a sign for him to come closer as he crouched down in front of her. He had an expression of confusion on his face which didn’t help her fit of giggles and he seemed to be at a loss of what to do with the laughing girl in front of him.

            “Dean, what the hell is going on?!” Sam’s voice came from close by and he came to stand next to his brother as he looked down at Talia with the same confusion that Dean’s face held. “Is she okay?”

            It was Talia who answered his question as she tried to speak between her laughs, “It’s just…I was running ….and then I tripped…just like the movies…” Sam looked at Dean with concern at Talia’s nearly indecipherable explanation but his brother simply shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

            Talia finally managed to stop laughing as she sat up and upon seeing her recovered from her fit Dean questioned, “All right, care to explain what the hell that was? And while you’re at it, I would love to hear what exactly went down with Bloody Mary and what your secret is.”

            At Dean’s words, Talia immediately sobered up and the lingering smile on her face dropped instantly before the tears returned with a vengeance and she let out a sharp sob as she found herself crying once more.

            Dean was shocked for a moment before he wrapped her in a hug and she leaned into him as she cried for what felt like the millionth time in the last few days. He held onto her until she had cried herself out and she was surprised that her body was still able to produce so many tears. She vaguely heard Dean tell Sam that he had this covered and to go wait for them by the car and when she had finally subsided into silence he pushed her away from him carefully and demanded once more:

            “Now will you tell me what is going on?”

            Talia immediately shook her head and started to pull away from Dean. There was no way she was going to tell him about the secret that Bloody Mary had attacked her for. He would never look at her the same once he knew she was a murderer who had killed her own father and she couldn’t handle being shunned by the only person that was always there for her.

            However, before she could fully escape, Dean grasped her shoulders firmly and declared vehemently, “No. Not this time. You don’t get to retreat into your shell and not talk for a week like last time. I’m not gonna let you do it this time.” She froze at his words and once he saw that she wasn’t going anywhere he released her and crossed his arms.

            “Now dammit Talia, I’m your best friend. Hell, me and Sam are like your family so whatever this is you have to tell us.” When she continued to remain silent he snapped out tersely, “You can’t just keep bottling up your feelings like this and pretending that everything is just fine. It’s not healthy.”

            Talia felt a surge of anger as she rose to her feet and spat out, “Bullshit, Dean! That’s real great coming from the man who wouldn’t be caught dead talking about his feelings and avoids emotions like the Black Plague.”

            Instead of firing back in equal anger, Dean simply replied calmly, “This isn’t about me. This is about whatever it is that is causing you so much pain and torment and that you won’t even tell your best friend about.  You used to tell me everything but now I have to force you to have a conversation with me.”

            Talia sighed as the anger left as soon as it had come and she looked down as she declared morosely, “I can’t Dean. I understand where you are coming from, I really do but…this isn’t something I can share with you.” She took a deep breath before she looked up at him as she continued with determination, “There are just some things that I have to keep to myself and I need to deal with this on my own.  If you can accept this than I promise to try not to shut you out anymore, because you’re right. You are my best friend and you deserve better.”

            Dean was silent for a moment as he took in her words before holding his hand out for her to shake in agreement of their pact.  After she had returned the handshake, he declared in true Dean fashion, “Alright, enough with the chick-flick moment. We should head back to the car before Sammy takes off without us.”

            Talia let out a soft, natural laugh of amusement and a genuine smile broke out on her face as Dean slung his arm around her shoulders and the two of them walked off through the forest.  She hadn’t realized just how strained their relationship had become until now.  

            Despite her telling him about her nightmares, she had still kept him at a distance and she felt like they were back to normal again for the first time in a while. She rested a hand on her chest over her necklace, which she had worn every day since Dean had given it to her.  It reminded her once more of the promise he had made to always be there for her when she needed him and how he had never broken it once.

            She still felt the darkness in her heart where the memory and the guilt would always reside but she also felt a shining light next to it that was overpowering the shadow and made her feel like she would be okay in the end. As she walked through the forest and laughed at a dumb joke he made, she decided, that light was named Dean Winchester.

 


	20. Chapter 20

            Talia tapped her fingers against her thigh absentmindedly as she thought hard about the decision before her and what she should pick. She peered back and forth and bit her lip indecisively as she considered her options, did she go with powdered or chocolate?

            She was standing in the middle of the aisle in another random convenience store at the gas station where her and the Winchesters had stopped to refuel both the car and themselves. She had wandered inside to grab some food and she was now stressing over whether she wanted to get powdered doughnuts or the chocolate covered ones.

            “Screw it, Dean will eat whatever I don’t finish anyways.” She exclaimed to herself before grabbing one of each before moving on down the aisle. She made sure to grab a bag of Dean’s favorite chips as well as a healthy granola bar for Sam along with three bottles of water before she walked up to the cashier to check out.

            Talia walked out of the store and headed towards where the Impala was parked, noticing that Dean had finished filling up the tank and was now sitting in the front seat next to Sam.  As she got closer she heard them, big surprise, arguing over something and she heard Dean say:

            “Oh, so you lie to ‘em.”

            “Who is Sam lying to?” Talia asked as she threw the bag of food into the back set before crawling in and sitting down.

            Dean turned back to look at her as he explained, “Sam still keeps in contact with his friends from Stanford and he’s been lying to them about what he’s been doing. I was just telling him how he can’t afford to get close to people in this lifestyle.”

            “You’re kind of anti-social, you know that?” Sam commented with snark before he turned to Talia for support. “You understand, right? Don’t you still talk to some of your friends from high school?”

            “Well,” Talia shrugged her shoulders, “that would kind of require me to have friends to stay in touch with.”

            “What, what do you mean?” Dean asked sharply as both brothers turned to face her.

            Talia shifted uncomfortably under the weight of their gazes and explained, “I never really made friends while I was living on my own.” She continued before they could interrupt, “I tried, believe me but I just never really felt like I fit in. I’m a hunter and I guess I couldn’t ever get away from that and I always felt like an outsider living in a different world.”

            Dean was nodding along with her as if he completely understood what she was saying while Sam stared at her with a mixture of confusion and concern.

            “You mean to say that for three years you never once had a single friend. You were alone that whole time.” Sam seemed horrified at the thought and Talia winced at how bad it sounded when he said it so bluntly. She had gotten so used to being alone that she had never considered how sad it was that she’d spent most of high school by herself.

            “I guess I’m just not like you Sam, I couldn’t escape this life and pretend like I never lived it.”  A moment of silence followed her words and she quickly tried to deflect the conversation away from her as she needled Sam, “At least then I never had to lie to anyone.”

            “Ugh, not you too.” Sam complained before he turned to go back to reading emails on his phone.

            Talia dug into the plastic bag and withdrew the food she’d gotten before calling out a heads up and chucking the bag of chips to Dean who grabbed it deftly from the air and ripped into the bag eagerly. She threw Sam’s granola bar into his lap as he was still busy looking at his phone and then tore into her own doughnuts.

            The car was silent except for the sound of the three of them munching on their food until Sam exclaimed softly, “God…”

            “What?” Dean questioned from beside him.

            “It’s this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine.”

            “Is she hot?” Dean inquired and Talia smacked him on the back of the head in exasperation while Sam ignored the comment.

            “I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack’s been charged with murder. He’s been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn’t do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case.”

            “Dude, what kind of people are you hangin’ out with?” Talia couldn’t help but agree with Dean’s statement.

            “No, guys, I know Zack. He’s no killer.”

            Talia snidely commented, “Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.”

            Sam didn’t acknowledge her and declared, “They’re in St. Louis. We’re going.”

            Dean let out a chuckle and then replied in a condescending tone, “Look, sorry about your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem.”

            Sam refused to back down. “It is our problem, they’re my friends.”

            “St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam.” Dean proclaimed with exasperation and he and Sam exchanged heated looks.

            Talia chose this moment to poke her head forward between the two of them and declare cheerfully, “Not that either of you cared to ask my opinion, which is completely rude by the way, but I’d just like to point out that we didn’t really have a destination in mind anyways.”

            Dean huffed and the next thing she knew, the car was pulling a sharp U-turn and they were heading back the way they came on the road to St. Louis. Talia shot Sam a quick thumbs-up before she leaned back into her seat to settle in for the long ride.

 

* * *

 

            Talia watched Sam stand nervously after knocking on the door and moments later it opened to reveal a cheery girl with long blonde hair who paused in surprise before she shouted happily:

            “Oh my God, Sam!”

            Talia saw Sam relax a bit as he replied, “Well, if it isn’t little Becky.”

            Rebecca mock glared at Sam while she said, “You know what you can do with that little Becky crap.” She smiled and then embraced him in a hug.

            “I like her already.” Talia whispered to Dean who hummed in agreement.

            “I got your e-mail.” Sam said in explanation of their presence.

            “I didn’t think that you would come here.”

            At this point Dean stepped forward and extended his hand in greeting while he introduced himself. “Dean. Older brother.” Rebecca shook his hand and then Talia stepped up from behind Dean, pushing him and whatever flirtatious smile she was sure he was wearing, aside.

            “Hi, I’m Talia. I’m a family friend.” Talia shook Rebecca’s hand and smiled pleasantly at the girl.

            “Come in.” Rebecca stepped back and gestured into her house and Talia trailed after the Winchesters as they walked inside, shutting the door behind her. She looked around at the large house and commented,  
            “Wow, this is a nice place.”

            “It’s my parents’.” Rebecca explained as she led them through the house, “I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I’m gonna stay until Zack’s free.”

            They walked into the kitchen as Sam inquired, “Where are your folks?”

            “They live in Paris for half the year, so they’re on their way home now for the trial.” She paused for a moment to look at the group as they gathered around the center island of the kitchen, “Do you guys want a beer or something?”

            “Hey-” Dean said with a smile before Sam cut him off abruptly:

            “No, thanks.” He then got straight to the point of why they were there, “So, tell us what happened.”

            Talia watched as Rebecca went into an explanation about what had happened, turning teary eyed as she explained, “Well, um Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. She was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn’t breathing.” She took a deep breath as her voice cracked with emotion, “So, he called 911, and the police, they showed up and arrest him. But the thing is, the only way that Zack could’ve killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time.”

            Talia looked over to Dean at these words, and he raised his eyebrows in response to show that he was just as intrigued by where this was going.

            “The police,” Rebecca continued her story, “they have video from the security tape across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight.”

            “You know,” Sam spoke up questioningly, “maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.”

            “Why?” She asked doubtfully, “I mean, what could you do?”

            Talia could almost see the cogs in Sam’s mind working as he came up with a quick lie, “Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop and he’s actually helping Talia train to be one too.”

            Talia glanced at Sam in shock for bringing her into the lie as well but he avoided her glare and she quickly tried to school her expression as Rebecca looked over at her and Dean in surprise.

            Dean let out a short laugh and seemed just as surprised at Sam’s words as Talia as he stated, “Detective, actually.”

            Talia simply nodded along with Dean’s words and tried to smile as innocently as possible.

            “Really?” Rebecca asked, “Where?”

            “Bisbee, Arizona.” Dean produced a random city name hurriedly, “But we’re off duty now.”          

            Rebecca smiled lightly as she said, “You guys, it’s so nice to offer, but I just- I don’t know.” She hesitantly looked between them.

            “Bec, look,” Sam leaned in forward seriously as he declared, “I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.”

            When she still looked hesitant, Talia chimed in, “Plus, this will be good experience for me, it’s been awhile since this one,” She elbowed Dean playfully in the side, “has let me practice my budding detective skills.”

            At this point Rebecca looked convinced and she announced, “Okay. I’m gonna go get the keys.”

            Talia watched Rebecca walk out of the room and then heard Dean give a low whistle from next to her.       

            “Oh, yeah, man, you’re a real straight shooter with your friends.” Dean proclaimed as he looked at Sam causing Talia to let out a soft snort of amusement while Sam didn’t look amused.

            “Look, Zack and Becky need our help.”

            “I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.” Dean argued.

            Talia looked at Dean skeptically, “Really Dean? Two places at once doesn’t sound like our kind of thing? We’ve looked into far less.”

            Dean looked at her before sighing in defeat and Talia grinned before turning to Sam and smacking him on the head and stating simply, “Oh, and that’s for not only involving me in your lie but for making me a junior detective.” She glared at Sam while he shrunk under her stare, “You couldn’t just simply say we were both cops, you had to make me look like more of a child, really.”

            Sam grimaced and quickly tried to explain himself, “Well, I thought it’d be more believable since your younger than us.”

            “Dude, she’s 20 years old.” Dean stepped up to inject.

            “Exactly, I’m old enough for you to stop pretending that I’m a child.” She crossed her arms definitively.

            Sam seemed confused as he questioned, “What do you mean, 20? Since when have you been 20?”

            Talia shrugged dismissively, “Since the day we killed Bloody Mary. It’s not a big deal, I really don’t care that much about my birthday anyways.”

            She looked down to avoid eye contact and didn’t see Sam open his mouth to argue before a sharp glare from Dean caused him to snap it shut.

            A moment of silence passed before Rebecca returned with the keys and the four of them set out to take a look at the crime scene.

            Pulling up to Zack’s house, they all stepped out of the car and Talia heard Rebecca ask cautiously, “You’re sure this is okay?”

            “Yeah.” Dean reassured her, “I am an officer of the law.”

            Talia followed Dean as they walked up to the house that was blocked off with caution tape across the gateway to the yard and the front door as well.  Sam and Dean ducked under the tape across the doorway after Rebecca unlocked it and Talia quickly followed suit but noticed that Rebecca seemed hesitant to enter as she looked around at the blood that was splattered all over the house and on various pieces of furniture.

            Sam also appeared to have noticed this and gave her a way out as he suggested, “Bec, you wanna wait outside?”

            “No.” She visibly steeled herself, “I want to help.” With that she too ducked under the police tape and stepped cautiously into the home.

            Talia saw Sam take a step forward as if to get a closer look at the blood strewn about but she pulled him back by his arm and declared in a voice low enough for only him to here, “Why don’t you wait here Sammy, this looks like a job for a detective. Now stay here and talk to the witness while the professionals go to work.”

            She finished her statement with a shit-eating grin on her face as she patted him condescendingly on the chest and stepped past him while trying to contain her laughter at his expression. 

            The sight of the blood strewn across the house sobered Talia up and she focused on the task at hand as she and Dean looked around to try and gather any clues about what had happened. 

            As she examined the patterns of the blood spatters, she noticed something rather interesting.  There was no single large puddle of blood, rather there was light amounts of blood spread all over the place in a messy fashion.  Talia figured that whoever, or whatever, had done this had not cared at all about being neat.

            While she was looking around, Talia faintly paid attention to the conversation Sam was having with Rebecca and heard her give him more details about the night of the murder. Apparently, there was no sign of forced entry which meant that Emily had let her attacker in.  When Sam asked the girl if she had any suspects of who, besides Zack, might have done this, she mentioned a previous incident of when someone had broken into the house and stolen some of her brother’s clothing.

            Talia stepped towards the front door. which was slightly ajar, when she heard barking and peered through to see a black dog barking loudly from behind the neighbor’s fence. As she stared at the dog curiously, she felt Rebecca come up behind her to look at the dog as well.

            “You know, that used to be the sweetest dog.”

            “What happened?” Talia inquired curiously.

            “He just changed.”

            Talia was hit with an idea as she heard this news and she asked, “Do you remember when he changed?”

            Rebecca hesitated a moment in thought before she answered, “I guess around the time of the murder.”

            Talia stared at the girl thoughtfully as she processed this information before she turned to inform the brothers of her idea and left Rebecca alone. As she passed Dean she made a gesture for him to follow her as she walked over to where Sam was staring sadly at a picture pinned to the fridge. When she got closer she realized it was a photo of Sam standing with his arms around Rebecca and a man she assumed must be Zack.

            “So I just learned from Rebecca that the neighbor’s dog went psycho right around the time Zack’s girlfriend was killed.” Talia spoke up in explanation of why she had gathered them together. “And I know that animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal.”

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed, “maybe Fido saw something.”

            “So,” Sam interjected as he looked away from the photo he had been fixated on, “you think maybe this is our kind of problem?” He looked to Dean meaningfully.

            “No. Probably not.” Dean refuted stubbornly, his pride not allowing him to so easily admit being wrong. “But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure.”

            “Yeah.” Sam replied in a tone that said he wasn’t buying Dean’s crap.

            “Yeah.” Dean repeated.

            Talia nearly laughed aloud at the interaction between the two brothers and it never failed to amuse her at how little they seemed to communicate through actual words and how most of their conversations seemed to pass through implied meanings.

            Rebecca then walked over to them and brought an end to any more private conversations. Dean turned to her with a smile as he inquired lightly, “So, the security footage. You think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, because I just don’t have that kind of jurisdiction.”

            “I’ve already got it.” Rebecca admitted shyly. “I didn’t want to say something in front of cops.” Talia looked at Dean and they exchanged a glance before laughing at this although not for the same reasons that Rebecca thought.

            “I stole it off the lawyer’s desk. I just had to see it for myself.” Rebecca explained.

            “All right. Let’s go take a look at it then.” Dean declared and gestured for Rebecca to lead the way out of the house.

            They gathered around the television in the living room back at Rebecca’s home to look at the security tapes, which showed up on the screen with four different angles on the street outside Zack’s home. The timestamp at the bottom ticked by continuously as they watched Zack cross the street to get into his home.   

            “22:04, that’s just after ten.” Dean commented on the timestamp of the moment when Zack supposedly arrived home. “You said time of death was about 10:30.”

             Rebecca nodded, “Our Lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape’s authentic. It wasn’t tampered with.”

            Talia listened to the conversation absentmindedly as she scanned the video feed, scrutinizing for any small detail that might be a clue.  She watched as the camera switched angles to show Zack walking in front of it and as his faced passed before the camera she saw a brief flash of light that immediately set her on edge.

            Talia looked up to see if either brother had noticed what she had only for Sam to subtly get Rebecca to leave the room by asking, “Hey Bec, can we take those beers now?”

            “Oh, sure.” She got up to go get them from the kitchen but hesitated for a moment as she looked at Talia and then asked, “Are you going to want one too?”

            Talia nodded, “Please.” Talia was happy the girl didn’t call her out on being technically too young to drink as she was already sore from the topic of her age after the discussion with Sam earlier.

            Right before the girl left the room, Sam called out again, “Can we maybe get some sandwiches, too?”

            Rebecca turned around with a mock glare, “What do you think this is, Hooters?” She exited the room without another word.

            Talia let out a laugh at the comment and then heard Dean whisper under his breath, “I wish.”

            She flicked him on the arm and complained lightly, “Ugh, you’re such a guy.”

            Dean simply grinned unabashedly before turning to Sam, “So, what is it?” He stood up to stand closer to the TV and get a better look.

            “Check this out.” Sam rewound the tape back to the same time where Talia had seen the brief flash of light.  He played it forward again at half speed and you could clearly see that Zack’s eyes were silver when he faced the camera.

            “Well, maybe it’s just a camera flare.” Dean contested.

            “That’s not like any camera flare I’ve ever seen.” Sam argued before he added. “You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul.”

            “Right.”

            “Remember that dog that was freaking out?” Talia said, “Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack’s, something that looks like him but isn’t him.”

            “Like a Doppelganger.” Dean said in conclusion of her train of thought.

            “Yeah.” Sam agreed, “It’d sure explain how he was in two places at once.” 

            At this moment, Rebecca entered the room again with a tray of sandwiches and beer and Talia felt her stomach rumble at the sight. She didn’t realize how hungry she was and she looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was far later than she thought.

            Murmuring a quick thank you to Rebecca for the food, Talia grabbed a sandwich and a beer and settled down at the table to eat. She was joined shortly by the Winchesters and Rebecca and the four of them spent the next hour laughing and eating as they made light conversation.

            By the end of the meal, Talia was leaning against the table tiredly with her head resting on her hand as her eyes began to droop close. Sam and Rebecca had long been caught in their own little world as they reminisced about college and old times and Dean and Talia had been left to keep their own conversation.  A lull in the talking had occurred and now that Talia was full and feeling content, she had quickly felt exhaustion hit her and she was quickly losing the battle to stay awake.

 

* * *

 

(Third Person POV)

 

            Dean was watching Talia with amusement as he saw her fighting to keep her eyes open as he listened to Rebecca and Sam chatter away next to him, neither of them realizing that they had basically excluded him and Talia from their conversation. A moment later he saw Talia’s head slump forward as she lost her battle against sleep and he smiled at the sight.

            Dean stood up slowly, and walked around the table to where Talia was sitting as he interrupted Sam to announce, “Hey Sammy, looks like little wolf is all tuckered out. I’m gonna just take her out to the car and wait there for you guys to be done.”

            Sam looked up and just noticed the girl who was passed out on the dinner table and he nodded softly at Dean as he said, “Okay, I’ll be out in a little bit.”  He then watched as his brother pulled the chair out and carefully pulled the dozing girl into his arms.

            Dean felt Talia stir a little as he gently picked her into his arms with one hand underneath her knees and another supporting her back. He whispered soothingly to her, “It’s okay. I got you, just go back to sleep.” She seemed calmed by his words and burrowed her head against his chest as she rested it right over his heart and relaxed completely once more.

            Sam tracked Dean’s movements with his eyes as his brother carried Talia, walking in a way that did as little jostling to the girl in his arms as possible. He only broke away once the two of them were out of sight and he couldn’t figure out what about the scene was so fascinating to him until Rebecca spoke up from where she two had been watching the pair.

            “So…when were you gonna tell me that those two were a thing?”

            Sam turned to face her in surprise, “Those two? They’re not dating.”

            “Come on, Sam.” Rebecca scoffed, “If you guys were trying to keep it on the down low you were doing a poor job of it and it’s not like I’ll judge her for dating her boss or think any less of her as a cop.”

            Sam laughed at the idea, “I’m serious Rebecca. Dean and I have known Talia since she was born and we practically grew up together. She’s basically our sister.”

            “She might be a sister to you, that’s definitely not how Dean sees her, I guarantee it.”

            Sam was shocked by his friend’s interpretation as he questioned, “What exactly do you mean?”

            “Well,” Rebecca explained, “in the little time I’ve seen them, they are always standing right next to each other, far closer than necessary. And they are constantly touching each other with little tiny meaningless and prolonged gestures which, and don’t forget I’m a psychology major, is the number one sign of attraction between two people.”

            Sam was aghast as he stared at his friend and contemplated her theory about the two people he thought he knew the most about.  Rebecca seemed uncomfortable under the surprised stare that Sam was giving her as she continued:

            “I don’t understand, I thought you would have seen this too. You’re so good at reading people, I’d have figured you’d be the first to know.  They just seemed so comfortable and at ease around each other and in their interactions. Hell, did you not see the look Dean had on his face as he stared at her and carried her in his arms. That is not a look of brotherly affection and that whole scene was far different from any interaction you’ve had with her.”

            “I don’t know Rebecca.”  Sam shrugged as his mind started reevaluating every moment between the two of them since they had picked him up from Stanford. “I guess I might not have noticed it because they’ve always been so close since we were children. Dean was always closer to her than I ever was and I guess I just figured that was the reason for the differences between my friendship with her and his.”

            Sam began to run his fingers against his temple as his mind struggled to handle this new idea.

            “I’m sorry Sam, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Rebecca apologized. “It sounds like whatever is going on that neither of them are really aware of it so please don’t tell them I said anything.”

            “It’s fine, Bec.” Sam replied hurriedly, “It’s not your fault. I’m glad you said something. Now I can keep a closer eye on them and see how much truth there is in what you said.  Although, if I know anything at all about either of them then they are both probably completely oblivious to everything you just mentioned and it would take an act of God for either of them to admit to ever feeling anything.”

            With those words, Sam stood up from his seat and declared, “Well, thanks for the food and for the insightful revelation but I should probably not keep Dean waiting any longer. We will let you know if we come up with anything about Zack and I promise you, we will help you prove his innocence.”

            Sam embraced Rebecca in a hug before he took his leave and walked out to the Impala while the wheels in his mind turned furiously to analyze the data about Zack and his case along with Rebecca’s startling observation.


	21. Chapter 21

            “Alright, so what are we doin’ here at 5:30 in the morning?” Dean questioned gruffly, annoyance evident in his voice. He clenched onto the coffee cup that Sam had gotten him to entice him out of bed.

            Talia was just as unhappy to be up at such an early hour as she stood next to Dean and echoed his complaint grumpily, “Seriously dude, what the hell? There better be a good reason for this.” 

            Sam had been giving her weird looks all morning and he refused to say anything when she called him out on it. It was getting on her nerves when she kept feeling his eyes on her when she was not looking and that wasn’t helping her mood this morning.

            “I realized something.” Sam replied hurriedly to appease the two non-morning people that were giving him death glares. “The videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out.”

            “So, he came out the back door?” Talia proposed as Dean took a sip of his coffee and leaned back against the Impala.

            “Right. So, there should be a trail to follow.” Sam explained. “A trail the police would never pursue.”

            “Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside.” Dean stated before he turned to Talia and grumbled in a lower voice so Sam couldn’t hear, “I still don’t know what we’re doing here at _5:30_ in the morning.”

            Talia nodded in agreement and tiredly rested her head on his shoulder as she watched Sam look around for clues.  She watched Sam looked fixedly at a telephone pole before he turned to them and called out triumphantly:

            “Blood.” He gave Talia and Dean a look, “Somebody came this way.”

            “Yeah, but the trail ends.” Dean argued, “I don’t see anything over here.”

            The sound of sirens blaring close by startled Talia and she sat up with a jolt, watching in surprise as an ambulance sped past with lights flashing. She glanced at Dean before looking at Sam and the three of them shared a look of intrigue and confusion.

            Talia stood up and walked down the street, following the wake of the ambulance. She felt Sam and Dean come up beside her as they rounded the corner to find the ambulance and several police cars parked outside a home.  There were two police officers leading a well-dressed Asian man, whose hands were cuffed behind him, into the back of a police cruiser while another officer set up some yellow crime tape.

            There were groups of bystanders hanging around in their pajamas and watching the scene unfold. Dean stepped up to a nearby woman, who looked to have been on a morning run, and inquired:

            “What happened?”

            “He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her.” The woman told him as she kept her eyes on the scene in front of her.

            “Really?” Sam exclaimed solemnly.

            “I used to see him going to work in the morning. He’d wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy.”

 

* * *

 

            Talia grimaced in disgust and hurriedly wiped her hand on her jeans as her hand touched something slimy while she climbed down the ladder into the sewers.  When she made it to the bottom she quickly stepped aside to give Sam room to come down as she looked around at their surroundings.

            The sewer tunnels were rather large and she could see that both Dean and Sam could stand up straight without brushing the ceiling. There was barely any light breaking up the darkness of the passageways and the air was stale and rank with the smell of mold, sewage and god knows what else.

            Talia wondered absently why the evil creatures they hunted couldn’t ever hideout in a sunny meadow filled with flowers and why it always had to be somewhere dark and disgusting.  Taking a deep breath, she pushed such thoughts aside and told herself to suck it up and focus on why they were here.

            Earlier, after talking to some police and doing some of their own investigation around the crime scene they’d discovered that the new crime was nearly identical to the last one. The man accused of murdering his girlfriend claimed to have been driving home at the time of her death which provided another case of one person supposedly being in two places at once. The similarity between the two cases lead the three of them to believe that it was the same creature who had committed both murders and Dean had proposed that it might be a shapeshifter.

            Additionally, the actual killer’s trail which had led out the back of the house had, just like at Zack’s place, stopped abruptly which had left Talia and the boys stumped and wondering if this shapeshifter could fly. Talia had then hypothesized that maybe instead of going up, the creature had gone down which led them to their current spelunking adventure in the sewers.

            “I bet this runs right by Zack’s house too.” Sam commented as he looked around, “The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around.”

            “I think you’re right.” Dean told him. “Look at this.”

            Talia stepped up beside Dean as he crouched down over a pile of something on the ground. Talia bent down to take a closer look and discovered it was a fleshy mixture of blood and skin and she audibly gagged at the sight:

            “Ugh, oh god. What the hell is that?”

            Sam seemed just as appalled as she was as he questioned, “Is this from his victims?”

            Dean pulled out a pocketknife and with a look of pure disgust on his face, used it to hold up a piece of skin from the pile.

            “Aw shit, guys I just had a sick thought.” Talia announced, “What if when the shapeshifter changes shape it uh…sheds.”

            “That is sick.” Sam agreed while Dean nodded his head and dropped the piece off his knife before pocketing it and standing up once more.

            Talia stood as well and followed Dean back out of the sewers and to the Impala where he opened the trunk and revealed his cache of weapons.

            “Well,” He announced as he stared at the collection before him, “one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there’s one sure way to kill it.”

            “Silver bullet to the heart.” Talia and Sam declared simultaneously with a smile on their faces.

            “That’s right.” Dean affirmed and focused on loading up a clip with silver bullets while Sam stepped away to answer his ringing cell phone.

            Talia stepped up next to Dean and he handed her an empty clip while the two of them worked on loading them up with silver bullets. They worked silently for a moment before Talia glanced over her shoulder to check if Sam was out of earshot before she whispered to Dean:

            “Hey, has Sam been acting weird around you this morning?”

            Dean looked over at her in surprise for a moment before answering, “Yeah, he kept giving me strange looks all morning as we were getting ready in the motel room.”

            “Thank god it’s not just me.” Talia sighed in relief. “He’s been looking at me every time my back is turned and I can feel him analyzing me but I can’t figure out why.”

            Dean shrugged his shoulders and said unconcernedly, “He’s probably just being his usual weirdly analytical, college boy self. I wouldn’t think too much on it.”

            Just as Dean finished speaking, Sam walked back over and explained that Rebecca had found out that Talia and Dean weren’t cops and was mad and upset at Sam for lying to her. Apparently, them tampering with a sealed crime scene might have hurt Zack’s case.

            Sam sat down on the hood of the Impala and Talia could tell that he was upset about what happened. She walked over and nudged his shoulder with her own while she gave him a reassuring smile.

            Dean came over as well and reminded him, “I hate to say it, but that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they’d be freaked. It’d just be easier if-”

            “If I was like you.” Sam cut him off abruptly.

            Talia couldn’t help but agree with Dean but she knew he wasn’t the best at explaining things so she spoke up, “Hey, whether you like it or not Sam, we are not like other people. But I will tell you one thing.” She grinned mischievously as she held up the gun she’d loaded with silver bullets, “This job does have its perks. Plus, you’ve got me to be your friend and what more could you need in the world then that?”

            Dean nodded in agreement as he handed Sam another gun and Sam laughed lightly as he stuffed the weapon into the back of his jeans and began to walk away.

            Dean started to follow him when he turned around sharply to face Talia, who was smirking widely. “Wait a second, what do you mean just you? What about me?”

            “Oh Dean,” Talia declared with a laugh as she walked passed him and patted him lightly on the back, “you’re his brother. You’re like the unwanted friend that was forced upon him at birth.”

            She continued to chuckle as she hid her own gun in the waistband of her jeans and pulled her jacket over it to cover it as she headed towards Sam who was waiting for them up ahead.

            The three of them entered the sewers once more only this time they were armed with not only guns but flashlights as well which brought illumination to the oppressive darkness of the tunnels.

            Dean took the lead as they navigated the maze of tunnels, and Talia followed close behind him scanning their surroundings with her flashlight to look for any sign of the shapeshifter.

            Talia lost track of how long they were down there but it felt like forever as they wandered through the tunnels before Dean, who had ended up in the back after Sam had taken point, announced, “I think we’re close to its lair.”

            “Why do you say that?” Talia questioned from in front of him.

            “Because there’s another puke-inducing pile next to Sam’s face.” Dean stated matter-of-factly.

            Talia and Sam both turned to see the pile of blood and skin, just like the one they’d found earlier, sitting on a pipe less than a foot from Sam’s head.

            “Oh, God!” Sam exclaimed in disgust as he stepped away from the mess.

            Facing forward again, the trio noticed a pile of clothes lying discarded in the corner and Talia commented, “Well, looks like it’s lived here for a while.”

            “Who knows how many murders he’s gotten away with?” Sam wondered aloud.

            Talia turned around to see if there was anything else in this area when she spotted the same Asian man they’d seen getting arrested earlier, standing right behind Dean. His eyes flashed silver in the beam of her flashlight and she knew it was the shapeshifter.

            “Dean!” She cried out, too far away from him to pull him out of the way.

            Dean turned sharply to face the creature behind him but was punched by the shapeshifter and knocked to the ground. The shapeshifter immediately turned and began sprinting away while Sam took a couple shots at it but missed.

            Talia had immediately crouched down over Dean to check on him and found him clutching his left arm. Sam turned to look at Dean as well only for Dean to yell at him, “Get the son of a bitch!”

            Sam continued to hesitate and Talia pushed him to go, they couldn’t let him get away. “Go Sam! I got him.”

            Finally, Sam ran off after the creature and Talia, after determining that Dean was not badly wounded, stood up and offered him a hand.  Dean grabbed her offered hand and she helped pull him to his feet and as soon as he stood up completely she let go and grabbed for the gun that was tucked into the back of her jeans.

            Dean was still clutching his shoulder and wincing but followed quickly behind Talia as she hurried after Sam.  Moments later, she caught sight of Sam scurrying up a ladder out of the sewer and she quickly followed suit.

            Emerging from the underground network, Talia noticed that they had come out right on the edge of a park and she saw Sam searching around desperately but there was no sign of the shapeshifter.

            She quickly hid her gun away again when she noticed all the people walking about just as Dean also climbed out of the manhole and did the same. The three of them scanned around for a moment longer before Sam suggested, “All right, let’s split up.”

            Talia nodded, “Sounds good.” Before she started walking off in one direction.

            “Woah, hold on there. You’re not going off on your own.” Dean called out as a gripped her arm to stop her from leaving. “You’re coming with me.”

            “Dean!” Talia protested, “We’ll cover more ground if we all spread out. I’ll be fine-”

            Talia stopped herself when she saw the stubborn look that Dean had, one which she knew meant nothing would change his mind. “Fine!” She snapped, “Let’s just go then before this thing gets away.” She stalked off again, expecting Dean to follow her and watched Sam go off in the opposite direction.

            Talia and Dean spent a half an hour combing the streets and looking for any sign of their lost shapeshifter. She was walking quickly behind Dean when a sudden thought occurred to her about where the shapeshifter might go next. So far, the creature had only attacked women who were left home alone.

            Talia immediately thought of Rebecca and she realized that instead of their hopeless search through the streets, they should be worrying about the creature’s next target. She looked up to share her thoughts with Dean only to realize he was gone and she was standing alone in the street. She figured he’d just rounded the corner without noticing that she had stopped, lost in thought.

            Talia hurried around the corner to catch up with him and spied his profile in a dim lit alley. Running over to him she called out, “Dean! I think I know where the shapeshifter is headed to next. He’s going after Rebecca and if we hurry now we might be able to head him off at the pass.”

            Dean turned slowly to face her and as soon as she got close to him she got this off feeling from him and as she looked at him she couldn’t figure out what it is but something wasn’t right.  She looked him up and down for a moment as she tried to casually reach her hands behind her back to get her gun while she searched for whatever sixth sense that was telling her that this wasn’t _her_ Dean.

            “What’s wrong, Talia?” He asked her as she continued to stare silently at him.

            It hit her in that moment, “Where’s your necklace? You’re not wearing your necklace.”

            She made a quick move to whip out her gun to point at the imposter but before she could finish drawing it, he drew back and punched across the face, knocking her to the ground.

            She fell hard and the impact jarred her head leaving her dazed and as she tried to recover she saw ‘Dean’ kneel next to her and his eyes flashed silver for a second before he told her, “You know, you’re a lot smarter than he gives you credit for.”

            After that, all Talia knew was darkness as another sharp pain shook her head and as she slipped swiftly into unconsciousness her last thought was wondering what in the hell had happened to the real Dean.

 

* * *

 

              Some unknown time later, Talia came too with a groan and she grabbed her head in pain at the throbbing ache she felt from getting knocked unconscious, something that was becoming a far too familiar feeling for her of late.

            Sitting up she realized she was in the same alley where she had stumbled upon the shapeshifter. It was still night out but Talia couldn’t figure out how long she’d been out. Standing to her feet slowly she knew her first step was to get to Rebecca’s house where her gut was telling her she’d find the shapeshifter.

            She didn’t have time to look for Sam and Dean, who could be anywhere at this point, and she hoped they had found each other and was sure they would be able to take care of themselves.

            Stumbling into the more illuminated street, she managed to hail a taxi and give him directions to Rebecca’s house from what she remembered.

            The whole trip there the cab driver kept giving her anxious glances in the rearview mirror and Talia figured she must look a right mess. She could feel a bruise forming on her left cheek and her lip had split has well leaving a thing trail of blood from her mouth. Thankfully the driver didn’t make any comments and dropped her off outside Rebecca’s house a few minutes later.

            Examining the house, Talia saw a couple of lights on in the first floor but she knew better than to assume anything from that.  She lamented the loss of her gun, which the shifter had taken from her while she’d been unconscious but pulled out the knife she had thankfully remembered to stash in her right boot this morning.

            She stalked up silently to the front door and took a minute to picklock the front door before easing it open cautiously. She looked around the living room to find it empty but the phone from the foyer was lying around the ground and the cord was stretched oddly with blood smeared on parts of it.

            Talia continued creeping down the hallway and kept a firm grip on her knife as she listened for any sign of activity in the home and headed up the stairs to the second floor. She was halfway down the hallway before she heard the muffled sounds of screaming along with a voice speaking.

            Hurrying towards the sound Talia came to a closed door that seemed to lead to the source of the noise. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she gripped the door handle and shoved the door open in a flash, stepping into the room and brandishing her knife in front of her.

            She found the shapeshifter leaning over Rebecca who was tied down to a chair and was beaten and bloody and yelling in terror through the gag in her mouth. The shifter, who was holding a knife to the girl’s face turned around and glared at Talia in surprise.

            “My, my, you are becoming quite the pain in my ass.” The shifter, who was still taking the shape of Dean, complained softly as it faced her completely.

            “Get away from her!” Talia shouted defiantly as she crouched into a defensive position.

            The shifter merely sneered at her before stalking forward with its own knife in hand and taking a swipe at Talia’s face. She quickly ducked under the swing and made a slash of her own which caught the shifter across the arm and caused him to hiss in pain and the sound caused her to falter for a moment. 

            It was a confusing confliction to hear her best friend in pain and she had to force away the reflex which told her to help him. She sternly reminded herself that this was not Dean and she should not feel bad about this monster being in pain.

            “I am getting real tired of you getting in my way.” It growled angrily at her and charged towards her once more. However, she was not prepared for how swiftly it attacked and she was not quick enough to dodge as he tackled her to the ground.

            Talia could hear Rebecca’s muffled sobs as she struggled from beneath the shifter who had her pinned down. He managed to pin both her arms down and began drawing his knife down her cheek tauntingly and left a fine cut in its wake.

            He froze in his actions as the sound of gun shots echoed from somewhere else in the house and Rebecca’s screams returned anew as she yelled with increased vigor.  The shapeshifter jerked Talia to her feet and held her in front of him with his blade to her throat before she could even think to yell out for help as well.  Her own dagger lay discarded on the floor where she had dropped it in their struggle and she froze in fear at the sensation of the cold steel lying against her throat.

            “Not a sound.” He ordered sternly as he forced her forward and led her to another room across the hall as he looked for an escape route. He seemed to find what he was looking for in some glass doors that led to a balcony but just as he led Talia towards them, the door burst open and several S.W.A.T team members rushed into the room and aimed their guns at them.

            “Drop the knife!” One of the newcomers ordered and the began slowly crowding forwards.

            “Don’t step any closer or I’ll slit her throat!” The shifter called out and pressed the knife just hard enough on Talia’s neck to draw blood.  Talia tensed up even further at the slight sting and felt ashamed of the fear that overwhelmed her body and kept her muscles frozen stiff when she knew she should be fighting to escape the monster’s grasp.

            The stand-off only lasted a moment before the shifter seemed to make up his mind and shoved Talia into the officers and burst through the balcony doors before leaping over the railing.

            Talia was determined to not let another creature get away because of her own ineptitude and she shoved herself out of the assisting arms of the SWAT team as she scrambled to stand up. She ran for the balcony and, without a second thought, vaulted over the edge after the shapeshifter.  She made sure to roll as she hit the ground to lessen the impact and was instantly back to her feet and sprinting after fake Dean.

            The shifter proved to be much faster than her though and she lost him after he turned a corner and disappeared into a crowd of people.  She skidded to a stop as she scanned the street looking for him, her breaths puffing out of her as she struggled to catch her breath.

            “Son of a bitch!” She cursed when she realized she’d lost him completely.  A couple nearby people looked over at her exclamation and then gave her strange looks. She remembered that she probably looked terrible with the cut and bruise on her face as well as the split lip that had started bleeding again.

            Talia knew her first course of action should now be to meet up with the Winchesters or figure out what had happened to them. She pulled the hood of her jacket up to cover her face and stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide the blood that had gotten on her hand when she had sliced the shifter.

            She decided to start walking back to where the three of them had originally agreed to meet up after splitting up. Not ten minutes later, she was walking along when she heard a familiar voice complain:

            “Man! That’s not even a good picture.”

            Talia’s head shot up instantly and she looked around hurriedly to find two familiar shapes standing in front of a store’s window display where televisions were playing the news report of the attack on Rebecca.

            She walked over hurriedly as she saw the TVs display an artist’s sketch of Dean’s face, who was the suspect for the attack considering the shifter had looked just like him. She was about to call out to them when she realized she couldn’t be sure that the shifter was not still pretending to be Dean.

            Not taking any chances, she kept her footsteps quiet until she was right behind Dean and then shoved him violently face first into the glass wall in front of him and pinned his arm behind his back.  She used Dean’s momentary surprise to swiftly reach down and grab the knife that she knew Dean always kept in his boot, a habit he had ingrained in her as well.

            “Ow! What the hell?!” Dean, if it was truly him, cried out in shock and started to struggle against her.

            Talia knew she wouldn’t be able to hold him down for long because shifter or not, Dean was much stronger than her. She pressed the blade of the knife against his neck as a warning to keep still and he froze at the feeling.

            “Talia, what are you doing?!” Sam cried out from next to her and it was then that Talia noticed that her hood had fallen down when she’d attacked Dean.

            “I have to be sure its him.” Talia explained quickly. “He could be the shapeshifter, pretending to be Dean again.”

            “It’s him, Talia! I promise.” Sam told her but didn’t make any moves closer to her considering how on edge she seemed. “We both saw the shapeshifter leave looking like Dean.”

            Talia still was suspicious at Sam’s words as she turned Dean around slowly, careful to keep the knife pinned to his throat in case he should try something. “If it is the real Dean,” Talia wondered skeptically, “then where is his necklace. Dean never takes off the necklace you gave him.”

            She indicated to the empty spot on the man’s neck where normally a small black cord would rest. “The shifter made the same mistake last time. You’d think he’d learn.” Talia said the last part aggressively as she pressed the knife even tighter against the imposters throat a moment away from slitting his throat and ending the miserable monster’s life.


	22. Chapter 22

            “Talia! It’s him, I swear!” Sam called out frantically as he stepped closer to her. “We were both kidnapped by the shapeshifter and tied up in the sewer. We saw him leave and Dean has been with me every moment since we got out. The shifter must have taken Dean’s necklace.”

            Talia was beginning to believe Sam as she didn’t think he would be so adamant unless he was 100% sure that this man in front of her was truly her best friend.  She stared hard into the green eyes of the man who had stayed oddly silent during the entire exchange. 

            After a moment of staring hard into his eyes she realized she wasn’t getting that odd feeling that she had around the shifter earlier. The feeling that had immediately tipped her off that something was wrong was distinctly absent this time and this confirmed for her that it was the real Dean.

            She immediately lowered her knife from his throat and wrapped her arms tightly around him in a hug as she squeezed him tightly in relief. “Oh thank god, you’re okay! I didn’t know what happened to you.  The shifter was pretending to be you and I thought he’d hurt you or worse!”

            Talia felt Dean wrap his arms around her and pat her back assuredly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Although I did think you were gonna kill me there for a moment, little wolf.”

            Talia pulled away with an embarrassed chuckle, feeling bad for her earlier display of paranoia.  As soon as she went to step away, Dean’s hands shot out to grip her face as he examined it closely with a concerned look.

            “Woah, what the hell happened here?” Anger darkened his tone as he took in the cut on her cheek that was oozing blood slowly as well as the blooming bruise forming on her other. He swiped his thumb across her bottom lip, catching the blood from her split lip.

            Talia felt heat rush to her cheeks at the move although Dean seemed unaware of the intimate gesture as he turned her head back and forth gently with his hands to get a better look at her face as he questioned angrily:

            “Did that bastard shifter do this to you?”

            Talia was suddenly hyperaware of how close they were standing as Dean continued to hold her face in her hands. She took a small step back to put some space between them and lightly removed his hands from her face as she reassured him, “I’m fine, Dean. It’s no big deal.”

            The anger was still clear in Dean’s eyes as he stared at her and argued, “You didn’t answer my question. What did that bastard do to you while I was gone?”

            “Guys.” Sam interrupted, “We need to get out of here. That drawing might not have been great but it was good enough. We can continue this discussion elsewhere, away from prying eyes.”

            Talia turned to look at him, having almost forgotten he was there, to see Sam looking at them with that same odd expression he’d had all morning.  She pushed it aside as unimportant and agreed with Sam that they should get moving.

            The trio walked in silence down the street until the got to a deserted alley and Sam inquired before Dean could, “So what exactly did happen, Talia?”

            Talia explained everything that had happened since she they had split up and she had discovered the shapeshifter pretending to be Dean.  The boys were silent throughout her tale, although Dean’s eyes darkened with rage once more when she retold her fight with the shifter and explained the reason for her wounds. They both glared at her when she told them that she had jumped recklessly over the railing after the shifter but neither spoke a word until she finished her story.

            Sam was the first to speak up as he declared, “Well, thank god you got there before it killed Rebecca.”

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed and then slung his arms around her shoulders as he joked, “Nice detective skills in figuring out the shifter’s next move. You’ll make a great cop yet.”

            Talia grinned at the compliment before asking with mock excitement, “You think so?” Then she thought of Rebecca and added somberly, “I hope Rebecca’s doing okay after everything, we definitely need to check on her in the morning and make sure she’s all right.”

            The walked further down the alley in silence for a moment before Talia realized, “Hey, by the way, what exactly happened to you two while we were separated? How’d the shifter manage to bring down both Winchesters?”

            Through the retelling from both Dean and Sam’s perspectives the three of them pieced together the whole scene of what had occurred that evening.  Sometime while Dean was out of Talia’s sight, the shifter had grabbed him, and knocked him unconscious before dragging him out of sight and adopting Dean’s appearance.

            After Talia had found the shifter and it had attacked her, the creature had left her in the alley and carried Dean into its sewer lair before heading to the Impala the three of them had agreed to meet before splitting up. At this point, the boys informed Talia that the shifter learned about the person it was posing as over time and that’s how it knew so much about them.

            Sam took over to talk about his confrontation with shifter and how it had gotten the upper hand on him as well before tying him up in the same place in the sewer as Dean.  Sam had woken up in ropes and exchanged words with the shifter before it had left to go to Rebecca’s house.

            The two of them had then slowly worked free of their bonds and escaped the sewer. They had been on their way to check on Rebecca when they’d caught the news report of the attack on Dean’s supposed involvement. 

            “And that’s where you came in.” Sam finished his story.

            “Yeah, and almost sliced me.” Dean said accusatorily.

            “Oh shut up.” Talia scolded him, “You’re fine now, aren’t you? Besides, we have more important things to think about. Like how are we gonna deal with this shapeshifter?”

            “I tell you one thing; I can’t wait to find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him.” Dean declared vehemently, still upset at the shifter’s use of his image.

            “I could use a little payback myself.” Talia agreed as she absently touched the cut on her face.

            “Guys,” Sam spoke up, “We have no weapons and no silver bullets.”

            “Dammit Sam.” Talia announced with a fake sigh of annoyance, “No one needs you and your logic.”

            “The guy’s walking around with my face, okay, it’s a little personal. I want to find him.” Dean added strongly.

            “Okay.” Sam agreed conciliatorily, “Where do we look?”

            “Well, we could start with the sewers.” Dean proposed.

            Talia also held up the small knife she’d used against Dean, “I also have this too so technically we do have some weapons.”

            “That.” Sam pointed at the knife, “is not silver so it doesn’t really help us anyways. And he stole our guns, we need more.”

            The three of them paused in thought before Talia suggested thoughtfully, “What about the car?” The brothers both looked at her in surprise so she elaborated, “Well, he fled Rebecca’s house on foot, right? So, I bet he drove it there, and it’s still parked outside her house somewhere.”

            Dean was visibly upset at her words as he complained, “The thought of him driving my car.”

            Sam ignored his brother’s words as he declared, “Talia’s right, we should go to Rebecca’s house and look for it.” He turned to continue walking down the alley, “Come on.”

            “It’s killin’ me.” Dean moaned again as he and Talia followed behind Sam.

            Talia huffed out a laugh. “Let it go, Dean.”

            Thankfully, they had been close to Rebecca’s house already so it only took a few minutes of jogging through back streets until they were turning the corner around her house and spotted the Impala parked alongside the bushes that surrounded the home.

            “Oh, there she is!” Dean exclaimed breathily in relief as they slowed down their run to a halt. “Finally, something went right tonight.”

            As if summoned by his words, a police car then pulled up alongside the Impala with its lights on.

            “Oh shit.” Talia cursed as they turned to go back down the road they’d come from. However, another police car was now parked down at the end of the road blocking that way as well.

            The screeching of tires and roaring of an engine alerted the trio that the other police car was pulling closer and they turned to watch it skid to a halt a few yards away.

            “This way, this way.” Dean called out frantically as he moved over to a nearby fence that led to another house’s backyard. Sam hurried over but Talia paused before following the two as an idea struck her. Dean stopped to look back as he was about to climb the fence and gave her a questioning look at her hesitation.

            “You guys go. I’ll hold them off and give you time to get away.” She called out to him.

            “What are you talking about?” Dean contested, “They’ll catch you.”

            “I was a victim earlier; they can’t hold me. Just go, and make sure you keep out of sight. You both can meet me at Rebecca’s. Besides she’s more likely to trust me after I sort of saved her earlier so I can explain things to her before she sees you again.”

            Dean still seemed reluctant to leave her behind but they were running out of time as the cops hopped out of the car and started approaching their location. Thankfully, Sam shoved Dean to keep moving as he clambered over himself.

            “Dean.” Talia yelled out when he was just about to hop over the top of the fence, “Stay out of the sewers, okay. I don’t need both of you getting caught by the shifter again.”

            Dean didn’t reply as he hopped over the fence and disappeared from her line of vision, causing her to cry out, “I mean it, Winchester!”

            “Yeah, yeah!” Dean responded dismissively and Talia was interrupted from saying anything else by the commanding voice that ordered:

            “Don’t move! Keep your hands where I can see ‘em.” Four police officers were approaching Talia from both sides with their guns pointed threateningly at her. She sighed and raised her hands slowly up to show she wasn’t a threat while she wondered how this scene had become a common occurrence in her life recently. As she prepared herself to sweet talk her way out of this sticky situation, she prayed that splitting up went better for them than it had before.

 

* * *

 

            Talia took a long draw from the bottle of beer she was holding, enjoying the refreshing coolness of the liquid as it slid down her throat.  She hadn’t always been a huge fan of the drink but over time she’d developed a taste for the alcoholic beverage and was appreciating it now as she relaxed on the couch.

            It had only to taken her a half an hour of smooth talking to get the cops to let her go. She had played the part of the concerned friend wanting to check up on Rebecca which was not entirely wrong. The cops had fallen right for it without a hitch and she was now keeping said girl company while they drank some beer and Talia helped to explain to her everything that was going on.

            Talia had been spending an hour to explain to Rebecca exactly what her and the Winchesters did and how it was a shapeshifter, and not Dean, that had tortured the girl earlier. Talia was impressed with how well the woman was absorbing the information and she seemed to adjust to it rather quickly as she stated:

            “So, say this shapeshifter is real. By the way, you know you’re crazy? But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?” Rebecca finished her statement as she walked up behind where Talia was sitting and offered her a fresh beer while taking the empty one from Talia’s hands.

            Talia completely understood where she was coming from. After feeling so helpless, it was natural that the girl would want to know how to protect herself from such an attack again.

            Talia thanked her for the new bottle and turned back around as she had an errant thought of where the boys were and what was taking them so long before she replied simply, “A silver bullet to the heart.”

            “You are crazy.” Rebecca reaffirmed.

            Talia smirked at this comment but before she could contest it she felt a sharp pain on the back of her skull along with the shattering of glass on her head and she slumped forward onto the floor with a groan.

            The last conscious thought Talia had was ‘not again!’ as she stared into the now glinting silver eyes of Rebecca as she towered over her with a smile.

 

\----------------------------------------

 

            The soft sound of a drawer being pulled open was the first thing Talia heard as she bit back a moan at the throbbing pain in the back of her skull. Her poor head had taken quite the beating today and it had already been sore from her previous assault and this new one was just adding to it.

            She shifter her hands anxiously only to find them, as expected tied down to the arms of a chair in the exact same position that she had found Rebecca in earlier that evening. She looked around frantically only to spot the shifter standing nearby in the kitchen searching through the drawers. 

The sense of wrongness she’d felt in the house made more sense now. She had thought it was because of the shifters previous presence in the home but it was clear now that she hadn’t been talking to Rebecca after all.

            “What are you gonna do to me?” She questioned it quietly as she searched for a way to break free.

            “Oh, I’m not gonna do anything.” The deep voice startled Talia and she whipped her head around to face the shifter who had once more taken on Dean’s appearance. “Dean will, though.”

            “I swear to god if you laid a single hand on him…” Talia trailed off angrily as she glared at him.

            “Oh I wouldn’t worry about him, sweetheart. I’d worry about you.” He stalked forward and leaned right into her face as he taunted, “You’ve been quite the little pain in the ass recently and you interrupted me earlier so I guess you’ll have to fill in for little Rebecca now.”

            He drew a finger down the cut he’d left on her cheek earlier and pressed into the wound gently drawing a hiss of pain from Talia as he inquired softly, “How’s the cheek by the way?”

            “How’s your arm?” Talia fired back instantly.

            The shifter flinched for a moment and grabbed his arm in remembered pain causing Talia to smirk in triumph. Her revenge was short lived as he reared back and slapped her across the face, reopening the wound on her cheek.

            Talia spat back at him in defiance and the shifter lifted a hand to slowly wipe her saliva from his face before he turned around and stalked back into the kitchen to continue his search.

            “You know, I thought my background was messed up but your little dysfunctional family really takes the cake.” The shifter called to her as he continued looking through the drawers in the kitchen, presumably looking for a knife.  “I mean, the whole resenting his brother for abandoning him with his father for college is one can of worms but then…” He let out a laugh, “Then there’s you two.”

            He held up a knife triumphantly and walked back over to where Talia was tied up as he continued to taunt her, “First he had to take care of his little brother, and then he got dumped with you as well. Talk about a useless burden. Between the constant nightmares that meant he never got a good night’s sleep either and you constantly shadowing him during the day, he…I mean I, never got a break from you.”

            As if to reinforce his point the shifter, and Talia was constantly chanting to herself to remind herself that this wasn’t Dean, dragged the blade almost carelessly across her collarbone leaving a deep cut in its wake that immediately began streaming blood down her chest. Talia sucked in her breath at the pain but refused to give him the satisfaction of crying out.

            “I spent my entire life taking care of you because you were too needy, worthless and pathetic,” He reiterated each word with a strong swipe of the blade across her body as he circled around her, leaving three fresh cuts on her arms. “to have even the slightest semblance of independence.”

            “Do you have any idea how annoying that was. Boy what a day it was when you were left in that home. Best day of my life. It’s a wonder he didn’t kick you to the curb sooner.” He continued to litter her with cuts and seemed to take a sick pleasure in covering her, and the nearby furniture, with her own blood.

            Talia couldn’t help a wince at his harsh words that struck at every insecurity she felt and she yelled at him, “Shut up! You’re lying. You aren’t Dean.”

            The shifter stood in front of her once more and leaned into her face menacingly as he declared, “Oh but I am, sweetheart…no that’s not right.” He seemed to strain in thought for a moment before he snapped his fingers and corrected himself, “You’re my little wolf, right?” He punctuated his question by stabbing the knife into her shoulder and leaving it there.

            Talia couldn’t restrain the scream that she released at the sensation although she did her best to use all the techniques she knew to push aside the pain. She needed to find a way to get free because with every word the shifter said and every wave of pain from her injuries, her mind became less and less able to distinguish the man in front of her from the real Dean Winchester.

             She blinked her eyes back into focus to realize that the shifter had returned to the room holding another knife which he had apparently retrieved while she had been momentarily overwhelmed with pain.

            “I wonder though,” The shifter continued his monologue as well as his torture, “will he be more relieved that you’re finally out of his life or more upset that you forced him to live life on the run when he finds you dead in this house? What do you think, little wolf?”

            Talia remained resolutely silent, and the shifter stopped his cutting to grab the blade in her shoulder and turn it swiftly as he questioned more sharply, “I said, what do you think, little wolf?”

            Talia grunted at the biting pain caused by the twisting of the knife in the wound that caused a fresh stream of blood to pour out. She did manage to spit out a reply as she declared, “You don’t ever get to call me that.”

            The shifter only seemed to be amused by the pure venom in her voice and instead of being intimidated by her glare he merely laughed and said, “And that right there is my favorite part of all this. You’re gonna die and he will never know just how in love with him you are.”

            Talia froze as the words left his mouth and all the pain temporarily left her body as she whispered, “What are you talking about?”

            The shapeshifter let out a laugh once more, “It was so fascinating and sickening to watch you fawn over him while he remains oblivious to it all. It’s really quite sad how clueless he is.” The shifter shrugged his shoulders casually, “Must be a guy thing.”

            Talia’s anger skyrocketed at his words and she felt a light-headedness that at first she thought was caused by loss of blood, which she knew was quickly becoming a significant problem for her. She quickly realized that instead, it was a building of energy, reminiscent to the encounter with the demon on the plane.

            She tried to bide time for it to build using the only weapon she had left, her tongue.  Turning her head slowly and doing her best to push down the pain she asked in a disinterest voice, “Are you gonna kill me or were you just planning on talking me to death? Cause despite what you might think, you’re not a great conversationalist.”

            The shifter growled at her and she felt the building sensation continue inside of her but before it could reach a tipping point a voice shouted out from across the room that startled her and the energy seemed to diffuse instantly.

            “Hey!” Talia turned her head slowly in exhaustion to see Dean, the real Dean, standing with his gun aimed at the shifter. “Get the hell away from her, you son of a bitch!” Talia didn’t think she’d been happier to see him in her entire life.

            Dean fired a bullet at the shifter who dived out of the way, knocking Talia’s chair over in the process and causing her to release a small cry of pain at the impact which rattled her body that was littered with various cuts.

            From her now sideways view of the room, Talia saw the shifter rush towards Dean before he could get another shot off and the two engaged in a hand to hand fight.  The shifter knocked the gun from Dean’s hands and it skidded across the floor to land ten feet away from where Talia was lying on the floor.

            The fight took both men out of her view and she could only hear grunts of pain and the occasional shattering of furniture as they two fought.  Talia struggled to break free from the ropes binding her hand but even completely healthy there was no way she was strong enough to break the ropes. She continued to struggle regardless until the dripping of blood into her eye gave her an idea.

            She started pulling her wrists towards her, rather than straining them upwards against the ropes, using the blood that coated her arms as a lubricant to try and slip her hands free.  It felt like an eternity as she shifted and pulled with every fiber of her being, the sounds of pain coming from the fight near her providing plenty of motivation as she had no idea who was winning.

            The ropes had been done extremely tightly and she could feel the skin on her arms shredding as they chafed against the rough material. Finally, she managed to slip her left hand free but her right hand remained firmly tied down and she knew she didn’t have time to work that one free as well.

            She pushed herself and the chair upright and searched around desperately for something to cut free her other hand but the shifter had taken his knife with him and there were no other sharp objects in the room. Except one.

            Grimacing at the thought she didn’t give herself time to second guess it as she saw that Dean and the shifter were still going at it and Dean didn’t seem to be winning.  She struggled to get a firm grip with her hand that was slick with blood, but she finally managed to swiftly pull the knife out that was still embedded in her shoulder.

            Talia nearly fainted in pain at the sensation and she felt the steady stream of blood increase from the wound.  Knowing the adrenaline rush she was having would only get her so far before her body completely shut down, she hurriedly cut her other hand free.

            She didn’t even try to stand and instead slid herself onto the floor where she began crawling as quickly as she could to the where she had seen the gun slide to.  Once she found it, she grasped it firmly in the hand that wasn’t holding the knife and used the corner of the couch to pull herself up.

            The sight before her showed that she was not a moment to see the shifter, differentiable only by his eyes that were once more a reflective silver, was pinning Dean to the floor and had his hands wrapped around his throat.

            “Dean!” She cried out and struggled to pull herself upright enough to aim the gun at the shapeshifter.  She raised the weapon with shaky hands, forced to drop the knife in order to use both her hands to steady it as best she could, knowing she needed to hit its heart.  In that moment, the blood loss finally caught up and a wave of dizziness struck her, causing her to falter and drop the gun in reflex as her hands shot out to catch herself as she fell.

            Two sharp gunshots rang out in the air causing Talia to wonder if her weapon had fired when it hit the ground. She looked up to see the shifter collapse onto the ground with two bleeding gunshot wounds over its heart.

            In confusion, she looked over to see Sam standing in the doorway with his own gun raised and smoking slightly.

            “Took you long enough.” Dean said hoarsely as he raised himself up to a standing position, rubbing his throat slightly. “You almost missed all the fun.”

            “Oh, shut up.” Sam replied as he tucked his gun away and offered a hand to help his brother to his feet.

            Talia raised a hand in the air to draw attention to where she was still laying on the floor as she called, “Don’t mind me, bleeding out on the floor over here while you have another stupid brotherly moment.”

             As if in answer to her statement, Rebecca entered the room from behind Sam and cried out in horror, “Oh my god, Talia are you okay!” She rushed over to Talia’s side and was visibly horrified by the amount of blood on her.

            Dean quickly followed in Rebecca’s footsteps as he kneeled by Talia’s side and did an assessment of her wounds.  Talia saw a fire burn in Dean’s eyes as he saw the many cuts littering her body and she was sure that if the shifter hadn’t already been dead then it would be wishing it was.

            “Oh, so now you decide I’m worthy enough of your attention.” She joked in a weak attempt to distract him from her injuries. The glare he gave her told her he wasn’t buying it and he moved as if to pick her up in his arms to carry her.

            She shifted away, wincing slightly as the movement jostled her shoulder, and protested, “Dean, no. I can walk on my own. I’m hurt not crippled.”  When he seemed like he wanted to protest, she sent a glare of her own and he sighed but relented and opted to pull her up by her good arm and let her lean against him for support.

            The wave of dizziness that struck her when she was standing had Talia second guessing her decision but she was determined to not appear any weaker.  Dean slowly lead her towards the door and as they passed by Sam, who had been standing over the shifter’s dead body, he held out his hand to Dean.

            Hanging from his hand was Dean’s necklace which Sam had retrieved from the shapeshifter’s neck.  Dean took it and gave a brief nod of thanks before continuing to lead Talia outside so they could get their medical supplies from the Impala and patch her up. 

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

            The next morning found Talia leaning against the Impala with Dean doing the same beside her as they watched Sam and Rebecca exchange farewells.  Talia’s arm was in a sling, something Dean had forced on her despite her protesting that her shoulder was fine, and she was wearing a sweatshirt to cover the many cuts that covered her upper body.

            Thankfully, the only serious ones, besides the stab wound in her shoulder, that had required a bandage were the one across her collarbone and her left wrist where she had scraped all the skin off when she’d slipped it free of the ropes.  The rest had been dutifully cleaned by Dean who had then tossed her some painkillers along with some whiskey to shoot it down with and declared her as likely to make it through the night.

            A good night’s sleep, aided by her use of the painkillers, and liberal amounts of alcohol, had helped with most of the pain and if she didn’t move too much, Talia felt relatively okay for everything she’d been through.  The warm sunlight shining down on her felt revitalizing and the only thought on her mind was for Sam to hurry it up so they could get out of there.

            “You’re awfully quiet there, little wolf. How’re you feeling?” Dean nudged her good shoulder gently as he spoke.

            For a moment, the memory of the shifters words to her and his use of the nickname cause her to clench her fist tightly but she shook it off and smiled back at him warmly. “I’m doing okay.” She paused to look over at Sam and Rebecca, who had looked over at the pair of them with that damned strange expression again. “I wish those two would get on with it though.”

            Dean’s eyes lingered on her a moment longer as if assessing the truth in her words before he chuckled lightly.  Soon after, Sam finally started walking over and Rebecca waved at all of them before stepping inside her home.

            “Finally!” Talia exclaimed before inquiring, “So, what’s going to happen to your friend, Zack?”

            “Cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily’s murder.” Sam declared with a smirk. “They found the murder weapon in the guy’s lair, Zack’s clothes stained with her blood. Now they’re thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Becca says Zack will be released soon.”

            Sam smiled at the two of them and Dean rolled his eyes before getting inside the car while Talia laughed and did the same.

            They’d been driving down the road for a while before Dean broke the silence and looked over to Sam, “I’m sorry, man.”

            “About what?” He asked in confusion.

            “I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just be…Joe College.” Dean explained sincerely.

            “No that’s okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in.”

            Talia leaned forward to once more interrupt the brotherly moment and reassured Sam, “It’s okay, it’s not just you. I felt the same thing at my high school.”

            “Yeah, that’s cause you’re both freaks.” Dean proclaimed from the driver’s seat.

            “Yeah, thanks.” Sam answered with a scoff while Talia reached her good arm over to flick Dean on the ear and reply:

            “Well that makes you a freak too, idiot.”

            “I ain’t denying it.” Dean argued as he rubbed his ear, “I’m right there with you two, all the way.”

            Sam laughed at the two of them before mocking him, “Yeah, we know you are.”

            Talia laughed loudly at this before Dean complained lightly, “You know, I gotta say, I’m sorry I’m gonna miss it.”

            Talia couldn’t figure out what he was referring to. “Miss what?”

            He turned in his seat to look at her with a grin, “How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?”

            “Hopefully,” Talia replied, “Just this one.”


	23. Chapter 23

            Rubbing her shoulder lightly, Talia tried to work out the aching pain that lingered where she had been stabbed by the shapeshifter they’d fought a couple weeks ago. The wound was healing up nicely and she’d taken off the sling a few days ago but it was still a little sore and gave her trouble if she moved around too much.

            Dean looked over at her in concern when he noticed her gesture and she quickly dropped her hand at his gaze.  He’d been extremely overprotective of her since the incident with the shifter and had been watching her like a hawk at every moment. At even the slightest indication of discomfort, he’d go into full mother hen mode and swoop down on her with his stern gaze that somehow managed to be unrelenting and nurturing at the same time.

            She was somewhat used to the behavior from him as Dean had always been super protective of her growing up but this level of hovering was a new one for him.  The removal of her sling a few days ago had finally provided some relief from his constant insistence that she be careful, rest and move around too much. 

            She didn’t think she could have handled another day of it and luckily he seemed to be over it; although he did still glance at her with concern from time to time. At least he kept his thoughts to himself now.

            Sending a look to Dean that said, _I’m fine, it’s nothing,_ she looked over to see Sam walking back over from where he had been calling people on a payphone as they continued their search for the ever elusive, John Winchester.

            Dean had turned back to working on the laptop and called out as his brother approached their table, “Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is getting’ cold over here, Francis.”

            “Bite me.” Sam replied stoically, not amused by Dean’s joke about the fake name he’d used to order his latte with.

            “Eww, gross.” Talia screwed her face up in disgust, “No one wants your diseases, Sam!” She got just as little a reaction to her joke as Dean had and the eldest Winchester decided to move past the moment as he inquired:

            “So, anything?”

            Sam exhaled in frustration, which explained his lack of amusement. “I had them check the FBI’s Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Doe’s fitting Dad’s description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations.”

            Talia could feel the annoyance radiating off him at their continued inability to find even the slightest hint on where the missing father could be.

            “Sam, I’m pretty sure at this point we have established that your Dad doesn’t want to be found. And when John Winchester decides to go off the grid, it’s no easy task to find him that’s for sure.”

            He seemed to be somewhat comforted by her words and then Dean spoke up, “Check this out, guys.” He turned the laptop over so Talia and Sam could see what was on the screen. The display showed the front page of a newspaper called the Plains Courier and the headline read ‘Mysterious Death of Sorority Sister’.

            “It’s a news item out of a newspaper in Ankeny, Iowa” Dean explained, “It’s only about a hundred miles from here.”

            “The mutilated body was found near the victim’s car, parked on Nine Mile Road.” Talia read aloud from the article and Dean nodded for her to keep going. “Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.”

            “This could be something interesting.” Dean declared once Talia had finished reading.

            Sam was skeptical of the potential case as always and Talia sensed that he wanted to continue to look for John. “Or it could be nothing at all.” He argued, “One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything? Doesn’t mean it’s the Invisible Man.”

            “But what if it is?” Dean contended before adding, “Dad would check it out.”

            Sam remained silent and Talia took a sip of her hot chocolate as she watched him, knowing his decision even before he grabbed his drink and started walking out of the café.  She took a moment to finish her drink before she did the same and stood up as Dean gathered the laptop from the table.

            “That was a low blow, Dean.” She commented at her best friend as he gathered their belongings.

            “Don’t pretend like you don’t want to check this case out as much as I did.” He retorted as she followed him out of the building.

            “Oh I didn’t say that.” She replied calmly, “I was just questioning your methods. It’s only so long that you can appease his frustration over the search for John with new cases.”

            “I know.” He sighed deeply before looking back at her with concern for his brother swimming in his eyes as he admitted, “I’m just worried about him and how on edge he’s been with the search and how it’s going nowhere.”

            Talia grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze as she reminded him, “He’s a tough guy, whatever he’s feeling and whatever happens he can handle it.  You just got to trust in that.”

            Dean squeezed her hand in return and gave her a small smile before the two of them turned to meet up with Sam who was waiting outside for them.  Neither of them noticed that their hands remained clasped together as they exited the store side by side.

            A long drive later, the three of them pulled up in front of the sorority house of the girl who had died.  There were a few girls standing in the driveway putting up yellow and purple decorations across the lawn.  All three of the girls looked over at the trio’s approach and Talia adopted a warm smile on her face to seem as innocent as possible.

            One of the girls returned her smile but her face resumed a look of suspicion as she took in the two Winchester boys who were standing slightly behind Talia awkwardly.  Talia turned slightly to glance over her shoulder and saw Sam sporting an uncomfortable look and she figured it must be weird for him to be around college kids again.

            Next to him, Dean was gazing suggestively at all the girls in front of them.  Talia rolled her eyes at the familiar mannerism although she also felt a tight knot in her stomach which she quickly pushed aside.  She figured it was just that odd building of energy sensation although she wasn’t sure why it would crop up now since it only seemed to happen when she was in danger.

            She heard Sam mumble through clenched teeth, “One more time, why are we here?”

            “Victim lived here.” Dean explained simply and stepped forward with a gleam in his eyes, his gaze still focused on the attractive girls who stood facing them.

            “Hello.” Talia cut Dean off as he opened his mouth to speak and stepped in front him. “I’m your new sorority sister. I just transferred here from Ohio so I’m new in town and was looking for some place to stay.” She gestured behind her to the two brothers, “These are my older brothers, they came with me to make sure I got settled in okay.”

            The girl visibly relaxed at Talia’s words and held her hand out as she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Christine. Welcome to our town.”

            Talia shook her hand and said, “I’m Talia. By the way I love those decorations you are putting up. What’s the occasion?”

            Christine smiled widely at the compliment and looked over where the other two girls were continuing their task. “There’s a big football game today and its tradition for us to put these up to show our support.” She turned back around. “Now why don’t you and your brothers follow me Talia, we just happen to have an empty bed that you can have.”

            “That would be awesome, thanks.” Talia followed the blonde as she led the way into the home. She was curious to see what an actual college sorority house looked like considering all she knew about them was from movies and books which were never completely accurate.

            Walking into the entryway with Sam and Dean behind her, she looked around to see a rather clean home with several pictures hanging up of a large group of girls with their arms around each other. There were several school banners hanging on the walls as well and the whole house emanated a comforting and homely vibe.

            “The room you’ll be in is up the stairs and at the end of the hall on the left.” Christine hesitated indecisively at the bottom of the stairs as she finished speaking.

            “Do you want to go outside and finish your decorating?” Talia asked kindly, guessing at the girl’s hesitation, “I’m sure I can find the room on my own.”

            The girl sagged in relief at her words as she thanked her, “I’m sorry, it’s just the decorations were supposed to go up yesterday but then I couldn’t do it and Sarah said-” She cut herself off, “Sorry again, I’m rambling. Thank you. I’ll be outside if you need anything at all.”

            She turned to leave but stopped herself again and swiveled back around to surprise Talia by grabbing her in a tight hug and declaring, “Oh and, welcome to your new home! I think you’ll fit in perfectly here. I so call dibs on being your Big.” She released Talia and ran out of the room before Talia could even register what had happened.

            Talia stared after where Christine had left in shock and felt Dean and Sam staring at her in amusement. She shook herself and then ignored what had just happened by stepping up the stairs to the second floor of the house.

            Walking into the room that Christine had indicated, she saw a short girl standing in front of a mirror in a yellow sports bra and shorts with a can of paint in her hand. She was carefully trying to paint a purple letter on her stomach. She stopped what she was doing upon the trio’s entry and inquired, “Who are you?”

            “I’m your new roommate. I just transferred here.” Talia pointed behind her, “These are my brothers.”

            The girl took the explanation wordlessly before holding out the brush and paint in her hand and asking, “Could one of you do me a favor and help me paint this letter on? I’m having difficulties putting it on backwards in the mirror.”

            Dean immediately grinned and started to reach out but Talia quickly slapped his hand away and indicated to Sam as she declared, “You should have my brother Sam do it. He’s a real artist. I can’t believe the thing he can do with a brush.”

            Sam glared at her before uncomfortably grabbing the paint bucket and brush and standing before the girl to paint on the letter. Dean also glared at her, although his held more anger, but Talia ignored both of them and shoved Dean to sit down on the unmade bed to keep him out of trouble. God knows what she should have known better to bring him to a house filled with sorority girls and she certainly wasn’t going to leave him alone unsupervised.

            Dean picked up a magazine that was lying on the side table and scanned it a second before finding the name printed on it and calling out, “So, Mary, is it true?”

            “What?” She asked in confusion.

            “We heard one of the girls around here got killed last week.” Dean explained casually.

            “Yeah.” The girl’s expression dropped sadly and Talia felt bad for broaching what must be a sensitive and still raw topic.

            “What happened?” Talia inquired gently.

            “They’re saying some psycho with a knife. Maybe a drifter passing through.” She paused a moment before adding sadly, “Rachel was a sweet girl.”

            “I heard that Rachel was with somebody?” Sam asked as he continued to outline the letter on Mary’s stomach.

            “Not just somebody. Lorenzo Sorensen.”

            Talia raised an eyebrow in surprise at this statement. “Who’s Lorenzo Sorensen?”

            “Lorenzo is a freshman, he’s a local. Super hot.” Mary gave a slight grin, “And get this: he’s the reverend’s son.”  Mary shot a knowing look over at Talia who laughed in response to the implication in her words.

            “You wouldn’t happen to know which church, would you?” Dean asked questioningly.

            Mary nodded and told them where the church was and also informed them that they were currently holding a memorial service for Rachel as well. 

            Sam quickly finished his painting and Talia thanked Mary for letting her share her room and then the three of them exited the sorority house quickly. They needed to head over to the church to talk to this kid Lorenzo while they knew where he would be.

            Thankfully, the church was only a brief drive away and as they approached the building, Talia could faintly make out the speech the Reverend was making as they hurried towards the door.

            “Our hearts go out to the family of a young woman who perished. And my personal prayers of thanks go out as well because I believe she died trying to protect my son.”

            Talia visibly winced at those last words, that had to be real embarrassing and emasculating for the son to be called out like that in front of the entire congregation. She followed behind Dean as he led the way into the main hall of the church and they entered as silently as possible into the church.

            The Reverend’s words were clear as day now as he continued speaking, “And now, as time heals all our wounds, we should reflect on what this tragedy means. To us, as a church.”

            Just as he finished his sentence, the door slammed behind them with a loud thud that echoed slightly through the room. The entire room fell silent and most of the congregation turned around to stare at them and even the speaker faltered in his words for a moment in surprise.

            Talia winced at the noise and felt a wave of embarrassment tint her cheeks pink under the heavy stares they were getting. Her attention was suddenly drawn to a pair of chocolate brown eyes who had an edge of grief in them as they stared at her. They belonged to a young man, about her age, with short brown hair that was sitting in the front row and wearing a green knit sweater.

            Talia blushed further when realized she’d been staring back at him for a long time and she couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was even with the look of mourning on his face. She didn’t think that was quite the appropriate kind of thoughts to be having in a church and she shoved Dean’s back gently to get him moving so they could stop standing awkwardly in the back of the church.

            The trio quickly took a seat in a pew at the back of the church and just as Talia sat down she felt eyes on her still and looked up to see that the boy was still looking over his shoulder at her and his expression hadn’t changed. She met his eyes once more and smiled weakly at him, trying to convey in a look her apology for interrupting the service.

            At her smile, the boy seemed startled for a moment, as if he hadn’t realized he was staring, and turned around to face the front once more. Thankfully, Talia tuned back into the sermon at this moment, just before the reverend called for everyone to pray.

            She quickly bowed her head down along with everyone else but noticed Dean staring straight ahead blankly, not aware of what everyone else was doing.  She placed her hand on the back of his head and pushed down gently causing him to bow his head. He shot her a look of confusion and she indicated with eyes to what everyone else was doing until he got the memo.

            The sermon ended not soon after and Talia stood up after everyone had left and led the way back outside the church.  She pulled the Winchesters to stand a bit away from where Lorenzo was talking with a friend.  She waited until she watched Lorenzo hug his friend goodbye and then approached him after the friend had walked away.

            “Excuse me.” Talia called out causing the boy to turn around and look at her, “Are you Lorenzo?”

            “Yeah, that’s me.” He answered simply, a warm smile on his face.

            “My name is Talia, these are my brothers, Dean and Sam.” She indicated to each of them as she announced their names and both brothers lifted their hands in a short wave of greeting but continued to let her do the talking. “I just transferred here to the university.”

            “Oh yeah, I saw you inside earlier.” Talia swore she saw a faint blush on his cheeks as if he too was slightly embarrassed by the awkwardly long stare they’d had.

            “I don’t want to bother you.” Talia stated hesitantly suddenly inexplicably nervous, “Just, we heard about what happened and…” She trailed off unsure of what to say. She was jolted by the slight reassuring nudge coming from next to her where Sam was standing as if he was encouraging her to keep talking.

            “We wanted to say how sorry we were.” She finished rather lamely but then gathered the courage after a slight pause to add, “I kind of know what you’re going through. I-I saw someone I was close to…get hurt once. It’s something you don’t forget.”

            Lorenzo nodded slightly in agreement to her words and his father, the reverend, walked over to stand by him before he could say anything in reply.

            “Dad, um, this is Talia, she’s a new student.” Lorenzo gestured to her and she smiled at the priest, “and these are her brothers Sam and Dean.”

            Dean shook the reverend’s hands and complimented, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon.”

            “Thank you very much. It’s so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord’s message.”

            Dean chuckled and there was an awkward lull in the conversation until Sam stepped up and declared to the reverend, “Listen, uh, we’re new in town, actually.” He began leading the reverend away from Talia and Lorenzo but Talia noticed that he had to forcibly pull Dean along with him. “And, uh, we were looking for a church group.”

            Sam’s voice slowly faded away as the three of them walked out of earshot and Talia turned to Lorenzo. “Tell me, Lorenzo. What are the police saying?” The two of them started walking in the opposite direction of the others.

            “Well, they don’t have a lot to go on.” He declared, “I think they blame me for that.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “My story.” He explained, “I was so scared, I guess I was ‘seeing things’.”

            Talia stopped and looked over at him, meeting his gaze as she declared firmly, “That doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.”

            He gave her an appreciative glance at her words and after a moment began telling her the story of the night Rachel had been killed.  As he finished his story, Talia could see the sadness in his eyes again and so she began trying to cheer him up with corny jokes and she felt a bubbly feeling of success in her stomach when she finally got him to bust out laughing.  The continued walking and chatting around the church as Talia did her best to take his mind off the horrors he’d witnessed.

 

* * *

 

(Sam’s POV)

 

            Sam was beginning to zone out as the Reverend continued to talk next to him and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up the pretense of being interested in the conversation.  He’d started it to give Talia a chance to talk to the boy whom he’d noticed she was interested in after the two had shared a long look in the church.

            He’d been highly amused watching her fumble with her words as she talked to him after the service especially since she was usually not one to mince words. Seeing the girl who was normally so calm and collected, stand nervously and struggle with her words was a hilarious sight. 

            After his nudge of encouragement, she seemed to get a handle of herself thankfully and he’d quickly hatched a plan to leave her alone with Lorenzo so she could get information about the case as well as have a chance to talk with him by herself without him or Dean breathing down her neck.

            Speaking of his brother, he looked over to find Dean glaring over his shoulder at something. A quick turn of his head revealed to Sam that Dean’s gaze was focused on Talia and Lorenzo who had walked back into view side by side and seemed to be getting on cordially as the two were bursting with laughter.

            Sam suppressed a grin at his brother’s reaction and hoped that this moment would help knock some sense into Dean. He wasn’t holding his breath though. Dean could be extremely dense when he wanted to.

            Regardless, Sam figured it was time to end their conversation with the reverend before it became too apparent that neither brother had been paying attention.  He politely thanked the man for his time and then excused them both and not a moment too soon. 

            The sound of Talia’s hysterical laughter carried over to them from across the grass and Sam watched Dean’s face harden further as the girl bent over with arms wrapped around her stomach. Dean immediately stalked forward and Sam wasn’t sure he was completely aware of the anger on his face as he did so.

            Sam immediately hurried forward to intercept his brother before he said or did something stupid. Luckily, just as they were within earshot they heard Lorenzo bid goodbye.

            “We should hang out later. I could show you around campus?”

            Sam caught Talia’s nod of agreement as she smiled with a light blush on her cheeks and replied, “Yeah, that’d be awesome.”  She watched him walk away before noticing Sam and Dean’s presence and her grin dropped to be replaced with a look of confusion when she saw Dean’s face.

            “Hey, guys. What’s wrong?”

            “What’s wrong is we are supposed to be working a case here and while Sam and I are doing research, you are over here giggling like a child.” Dean spat out in dark tone causing Talia to visibly recoil in shock. “You were supposed to be getting information from the kid not making plans to hang out on campus. Did you forget you’re not actually going to college?”

            Sam witnessed the hurt that had entered Talia’s eyes quickly morph into outrage as she replied with venom, “I know that Dean. I’m aware I’m not actually a college student, nor will I ever be. You don’t have to throw my decision in my face.” She seemed to freeze for a moment at her words and stared at them with wide eyes before she quickly switched topics.

            “Regardless, I got all the information I needed from him earlier.” She declared quickly, “And I figured you’d be happy I made friends with him because now if we need to talk to him again, I have his number to call him with.”

            Dean seemed even further enraged by this comment and Sam quickly interrupted him before he could say anything, “Guys. Hey, let’s continue this conversation somewhere else, alright?”

            The pair finally seemed to notice how loud their argument had been and Dean harrumphed before stalking away towards the Impala. Sam turned to ask Talia what had made her freeze earlier but upon seeing the perplexed and upset expression she had he changed his mind.

            “Don’t worry about him.” He reassured her as he led her towards the car with an arm across her shoulder, “He’s just being overprotective about you being around guys.” Something told him that it would be best not to tell her that he thought the anger was motivated by jealously as well.

            “Yeah, I mean I’ve seen that part of him before but I don’t remember it being this intense.”  She shrugged, “I guess it’s just been awhile.”

            As they continued walking towards the car, Sam wasn’t sure if he was frustrated more or amused by how these two people who claimed to best friends were so bad at reading each other.  He noted this incident as another on the list that supported Rebecca’s theory and with each passing day he was believing it more.


	24. Chapter 24

            By the time they pulled up to the library, Talia had all but forgotten her minor fight with Dean and when he asked her to tell him and Sam what she’d learned from Lorenzo she figured he had cooled down as well. She knew Dean had a tendency to lash out at others when he was upset about something so she didn’t take anything he said personally, knowing he was probably beating himself up for it anyways.  Although she did wonder what had put him in such a foul mood.

            The only thing she did regret was how she had almost let her secret slip in her anger and she had to remind herself to be more careful. Thankfully, only Sam seemed to notice her sudden fear and he seemed to have brushed it off.

Being around college kids was making her anxious, as if Sam and Dean would somehow suddenly be able to sniff out her secret, which was silly but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to know what their reactions would be if they ever found out.

            She had reassured herself by confirming that the packet was still buried deep in the bottom of her duffle bag.  She knew she should just get rid of it at this point but for some reason she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

            Realizing she’d never answered Dean’s question she began retelling the story Lorenzo had told her of how Rachel had died.  Apparently the two of them had been on a date and driving on their way to a party when Rachel had insisted they stop for a moment under a bridge.  At this point, Lorenzo had blushingly told her that Rachel had leaned over and the two of them had started kissing.

            At this point, they had heard a strange scraping noise from outside the car and Rachel had gotten out to investigate it when the sound persisted, despite Lorenzo’s protests.  Lorenzo said that a tire on the car popped, and something broke the back window startling him and when he next looked out, Rachel was gone.

            Lorenzo had scrambled out of the car after hearing a loud thud on the roof and looked up to see Rachel hanging upside down by her feet, covered in blood. 

            “So you believe him?” Dean asked doubtfully when Talia had finished her tale.

            “I do.” Talia could tell by the look in Lorenzo’s eyes that his story had been true.

            “You sure you’re not just saying that cause he’s hot?” Sam teased her.

            “Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt.” Talia shrugged casually with a sly grin on her face, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted as she brushed past him and continued down the aisle of the library.  “There was something in his eyes though that really made me believe him. He also told me he found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car.”

            “Wait, the body suspended?” Dean pondered, “That sounds like the-”

            “Hook Man legend.” Talia interrupted him. “Yeah, that’s what I thought of too.”

            “That’s one of the most famous urban legends ever. You don’t think that we’re dealing with _the_ Hook Man.” Sam questioned.

            “Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began.” Talia explained as she directed them down a side aisle in the library so they could talk more privately.

            “But what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?” Dean contended logically.

            Talia considered this for a moment before answering, “Maybe the Hook Man isn’t actually a man at all. What if it’s some kind of spirit?”

            “That would explain a lot.” Sam agreed and the three of them searched for a librarian to help them find the information they were looking for.  A cute and chipper redheaded girl dressed in a stereotypical librarian outfit that consisted of a purple button up blouse and a knee length brown skirt was happy to help them.

            She was only gone for a couple minutes before she returned and plopped down two heavy boxes that sent up a wave of dust when they hit the table.

            “Here you go.” She informed them warmly, “Arrest records going back to 1851.”

            Talia blew some of the dust off of the lids of the boxes and coughed as it spread out into the air.

            Sam thanked the girl for her help and she left them alone to their work leaving the three of them to stare blankly at the daunting amount of information in front of them.

            “So, this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?” Dean asked dryly as he cracked open the lid to one of the boxes. “Makes you think we must have missed out on something, eh Talia?”

            Talia managed a sort of grimace at him before she quickly looked away with the pretense of opening the other box, berating herself internally for being so high strung. There was no way Dean would know.

            Sam chuckled softly at Dean’s words and declared, “Welcome to higher education.”

            Those were the last words spoken by any of them for several hours as they put their nose to the grindstone and began meticulously working their way through the many records. 

            Talia rubbed her eyes tiredly as she stared at the letters that were begging to swim before her exhausted retinas.  She squeezed her eyes shut tight for a moment to give them a break and hopefully allow here to continue reading without the words having a slight blur to them. 

            Resting her head down on the table in exhaustion she prayed that they would find the sort of record they were looking for soon.  A gentle hand rubbing soothing circles on her back caused her to lift her head and look over at Dean who was still sifting through the old papers in the chair next to her.

            He seemed as tired as she was and she wasn’t sure he was aware of the reflexive comfort his hand provided as he continued to read through the paper in front of him. The two of them had been in a similar situation many times when they would help John research cases and the comforting gesture was common when they had been going at it for long stretches of time.

            She allowed herself another moments rest before shaking herself mentally and preparing to delve back into the thick of it. Just as she reached for another paper however, Sam’s voice spoke up from where he’d elected to continue searching standing up nearby.

            “Hey, check this out.”

            Both Talia and Dean rose to their feet slowly and ambled over to where Sam was holding a few yellowed papers in front of him which he angled for them to read while he explained:

            “1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes.  Uh…” He shuffled through the papers for a second before finding the one he wanted.

            “It says right here, ‘some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.”

            “Oh and get this,” Dean announced, holding a page he’d pulled from the pile, “the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook.”

            “Guys, look where all this happened.” Talia pointed to the paper, “9 Mile Road.”

            “That’s the same place where the sorority girl was killed.” Sam realized.

            “Nice work team.” Talia declared triumphantly, glad they were finished with the research. “Now, let’s go check it out.”

            They were in the car driving when Talia got a text from Lorenzo:

 _Hey, you want to hang out tonight? My dad’s dropping me off at the frat house in a little bit and there’s a movie theater a few blocks awa_ y.

            Talia smiled at a phone for second before looking up and asking hesitantly, “Hey Dean, you think you could drop me off at the college on the way?”

            Dean looked back at her startled for a moment. “What? Why do you need to go there? I thought you’d be itching to come with us.”

            Talia’s mind struggled to come up with an excuse, not wanting to say she just wanted to hang out with Lorenzo. It had been a long time since she had gotten along so well with a boy and if they were going to be wrapping things up on this case tonight she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

            She thought Sam was dragging her under the bus when he declared, “She probably just wants to stay with Lorenzo.” However, he continued, “It makes sense, Dean. We don’t know if the Hook Man will go after him next and the two of us should be able to handle a simple salt and burn.”

            Talia shot Sam a grateful look for saving her ass and she saw Dean grumble for a bit under his breath, looking extremely unhappy at the idea but he couldn’t fault Sam’s logic. “I guess.”

            Talia tried to not seem too excited but internally she was giddy.  It had been far too long since she’d hung out with a guy and she liked Lorenzo a lot.  She forcibly ignored the small voice in her head that told her if Sam and Dean accomplished their task tonight then they would most likely be out of town by tomorrow morning.

            Pulling out her phone, she texted Lorenzo back and they agreed to meet in about 30 minutes outside his dorm building. 

            Sure enough, a half an hour later, Dean pulled to a stop along the curb and put his arm around the side seat as he turned around but before he could say anything, Talia listed off.

            “Yes, I’ve got my gun, chock full of salt rounds, and my knife tucked in my boot as always. And I promise I’ll stay alert and be safe.”

            Dean closed his mouth and glared at her as she answered all his usual questions before he could even ask them.

            “Don’t worry, most likely nothing will happen. I just want to make sure he stays safe.” Talia felt a small twinge for lying to her best friend but she figured that Sam had started the lie first so it wasn’t completely her fault.

            Getting out of the car, she turned to wave to both brothers and watched them drive away before she turned and started walking to where she would meet Lorenzo.

 

* * *

 

            The streetlights illuminated the sidewalk in warm yellow light as Talia ambled along with Lorenzo on their way out of the theater.  The two of them had decided to hit up a nearby restaurant for a late-night snack but the sharp ringing of Talia’s cellphone interrupted their jovial conversation.

            Talia pulled her cellphone out with an apologetic look and didn’t recognize the number but answered anyways. “Hello?”

            “Hey, little wolf. How’s everything going with the witness protection program?” Dean’s familiar voice answered casually and Talia could tell immediately that something was up.

            “Everything’s fine, Dean. Now, please tell me you’re calling to say that everything went fine and that you and Sam aren’t in some sort of trouble.” Talia announced although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. Looks like she wasn’t going to be getting food after all.

            Dean let out a nervous chuckle, “We’re fine, everything’s great. Except well, you’re kinda my one phone call.”

            Talia sighed in resignation, “You guys got yourselves arrested? Really?!” She rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “You’re creating quite the track record with the cops lately, Dean.”

            Dean laughed on the other end. “What can I say, they just can’t get enough of me.”

            This prompted another eye roll from Talia before she replied, “Alright, it might take me a bit to get over there since I don’t have a car but I’ll be over as soon as I can to see if I can’t bail you two suckers out.”

            “See you soon.”

            Talia hung up the phone and turned to face Lorenzo, who had stood a polite distance away to give her some privacy and declared, with a voice full of regret, “Hey, so I’m really sorry but my brothers are in a bit of a pickle and they really need me to go help them out. I’m gonna need a rain check on our dinner.”

            Lorenzo smiled understandingly at her. “Don’t worry about it, I totally get it. They’re family.” He responded graciously. “Are you going to need a ride?  Cause I can get my dad to drive you to wherever you need to go.”

            “It’s not too far of a walk,” She lied effortlessly, “but I appreciate the offer.” The last thing Talia needed was for Lorenzo and his religious father to see her going to bail her “brothers” out of jail.

            “You really shouldn’t be walking out alone this late though.” Lorenzo argued.  “Especially after what just happened.”

            “I’ll be fine, really.” Talia told him resolutely. “It’s only a couple blocks away and we are in the middle of downtown.” When he still looked unconvinced she added, “And I’ll text you when I get there safe, okay?”

            Lorenzo seemed reassured by this and the two of them parted ways as Talia took a brisk walk to the town jail, looking forward to teasing the Winchesters for getting themselves arrested.  She paused for a moment outside the building to compose herself and decide her best course of action for the role she was about to play.

            She walked into the building after deciding on the role of the annoyed and slightly embarrassed little sister. She walked up to the main desk and asked politely, “Um, so I think you have my two brothers being held here?”

            The officer at the front desk, an older man who appeared to be in his mid 50’s, looked up at her question.  “You must be Talia.” He said it more like a statement than a real question. “I hope you know that they are in a lot of trouble”

            Talia sighed in exasperation at his tone, he sounded like the kind of cop that wasn’t willing to let go of things easily which meant she was going to have to do some serious sweet talking to get them out of this mess.

            “Do you think I could see them, just to make sure they’re okay and tell them I’m here?” Talia knew she would need to talk to the boys to figure out exactly what happened and what details she needed to know to cover things up.

            “Sure.” The cop replied, “Follow me.” He led her through a few doors to the back of the building until they came upon the holding cell where Talia saw Sam sitting dejectedly on a bench while Dean sat casually on the floor, seeming unconcerned about their predicament.

            Both brothers’ heads lifted as they approached and she grinned at the hopeful, and a bit sheepish, smiles that lit up their faces when they saw her. She crossed her arms as she stood in front of the iron bars that separated them.

            “Looks like you’ve got quite the predicament here, huh?” She adopted a more disappointed voice, “I can’t believe you two would get arrested! We literally just moved here and you are already causing trouble.” She turned to the officer and asked, “What exactly did these two boneheads do?”

            “Found them in the forest by the bridge with guns, loaded full of salt.” The officer’s gruff reply indicated that he was not as amused by the situation as she was.  “They didn’t have any gun permits and after being caught around the restricted area of a crime scene these two are looking at some jail time.”

            “Why don’t you follow me miss and we can go over the details in my office.”  Talia nodded in response and followed the officer as he led her away from the cell. She knew getting him alone was key and she could come up with some story or explanation to get him to get rid of the charges or at least, the jail time part.

 

* * *

 

            It was long past dawn by the time Talia walked out of the police department triumphantly, leading the two Winchesters behind her.  It had taken her the entire night of negotiating and paperwork to get Dean and Sam released but she was happy with her success.

            “Ha! I saved your asses, again!” She exclaimed as she turned around and skipped backwards. “You two so owe me. I talked the Sheriff down to a fine, a _fine._ ”

            Both brothers were smiling, amused at her enthusiasm and Sam asked, “How exactly did you manage that?”

            “It was easy.” She explained but then clarified, “Well, not exactly easy but once I came up with a story it was the simple task of making it believable. I told him that you were my annoyingly protective brothers who wouldn’t leave me alone to go on a date so I made up some story about a ghost that you two should hunt.”

            “And he believed you?” Dean asked skeptically.

            “Hell yeah, I have a very innocent looking face.” Sam and Dean both snorted in disbelief at this, “Plus, once I told him it was a date with the Reverend’s son he seemed much more relaxed. Apparently, he was at church yesterday as well and saw someone,” She looked pointedly at the eldest Winchester, “glaring angrily at me while I was talking with Lorenzo. He said the look in your eyes made him believe that I would have to do something so insane to distract you so I could go on a date.”

            Dean had the decency to look sheepish, “I didn’t think you’d noticed that.”

            “Notice it,” Talia laughed, “Dean I could feel your glare on me from across the church. I was surprised that protective mama bear didn’t come over sooner. You really don’t have to worry so much about me.”

            Dean scratched the back of his head awkwardly and Talia saw Sam watching his brother’s embarrassment in amusement although there was a glint in his eyes like he knew something they didn’t.

            Dean finally moved to protest Talia’s words but they were interrupted by a police officer’s running out of the building they’d just exited. The trio looked on in surprise as the cops hopped into their cars and sped away and all of them shared a look before running over to the Impala to see where the cops were going. 

            As they continued their pursuit, Talia slowly realized that their surroundings were familiar, they were right next to where Lorenzo’s dorm was. She hoped that nothing had happened to him.

            Unfortunately, when they drove slowly past the driveway to his dorm, they saw all the police cars parked and an ambulance with its lights flashing sitting with its back doors open. Sitting down in the back, huddled over and with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, was Lorenzo.

            The boy looked up as they drove past and Talia met his eyes to see a haunted look had entered them and she was terrified for the sadness she saw in them.  They drove out of sight and turned on the corner to park on the block behind the house to sneak up to it from the back.

            As they got closer, they overheard a pair of cops discussing the mysterious death of Lorenzo’s roommate, a boy named Taylor who Lorenzo had woken up to find dead in his bed.  Talia saw Lorenzo being led away by his father and she wondered aloud sadly, “Why would the Hook Man come here? This is a long way from 9 Mile Road.”

            “Maybe he’s not haunting the scene of his crime.” Dean suggested, “Maybe it’s about something else.”

            Lorenzo looked extremely downtrodden as he clutched the blanket around his hunched shoulders and let his father lead him away. Talia didn’t realize she’d taken a step forward to go to him until Sam’s restraining hand yanked her back to hide around the corner of the house out of view.  She then noticed a pair of fraternity boys had exited the house and were walking down the driveway away from them.

            Talia wondered how in the world they were going to be able to sneak into the house that was probably swarming with cops and Dean solved their problem when he pointed to the balcony on the second floor above them.

            “Why don’t we climb up here?”

            Talia looked over at him with eyebrows raised skeptically, wondering how he expected her to make it all the way up there.

            Dean rolled his eyes but answered her silent question by crouching down and cupping his hands together while explaining, “I’ll boost you up.”

            Talia was doubtful but she trusted Dean so she took a step back to get a moving start and then pushed off strongly form the ground, using Dean’s hands as a second step and she felt him give a mighty upwards heave that sent her surging upwards and she just managed to get a grip on the ledge.

            She heaved herself upwards over the ledge, surprised to feel that her muscles struggled a little less with the action than she was used to although her injured shoulder did complain slightly at the movement.

            She figured that she must be getting in better shape from all the hunting she’d been doing with the Winchesters lately.  Her body was slowly adapting once more to handle all the demands that this lifestyle required.

            Talia moved out of the way and soon Dean and Sam joined her. She stopped a window nearby and lifted it to find it, thankfully, unlocked and she slid it open as far as it would go. She clambered through it head first and let out a muffled curse when she felt a sharp but brief pain in her shoulder in protest as she caught herself with her hands.

            Taking a moment to gather herself, knowing Dean would have a fit if he knew that her shoulder was still so sore, she made as if to stand up when a huge weight landed on top of her nearly knocking the breath from her lungs.

            “Shit, sorry!” Dean apologized from on top of her.

            “Dammit, Dean.” Talia’s voice was muffled from where her face was pressed into the carpet by his weight. “Get off!”

            She felt him quickly roll over to the side and as soon as she was relieved of the pressure she glared over at him. “You couldn’t wait another five seconds for me to get out of the way?”

            She scrambled to her feet to avoid getting crushed by Sam as well and then turned to the eldest Winchester as an amusing thought struck her. “Can you imagine Sam’s reaction if we had made that same entrance into his apartment in Stanford?”

            Dean seemed just as amused by the thought as she was as he laughed while replying, “Can you imagine the look on his face?” He screwed up his face in an impression of what it would look like and Talia lost it, breaking out into helpless laughter.

            Sam picked that moment to climb through the window and when he stood up he looked oddly at Talia who was still giggling uncontrollably. His face took on an expression so similar to the one Dean had just mockingly made that Talia turned her head, made eye contact with Dean and the two of them both broke out into laughter.

            A creaking sound coming from somewhere below alerted them that someone was coming upstairs and Dean’s immediately stopped while Talia slapped a hand across her own mouth to muffle the noise of her own laughter. However, as soon as she tried to cease laughing, her giggling became even more uncontrollable.

            Dean rolled his eyes when he saw her laughing even harder and dragged her with him as the three of them somehow managed to squeeze into the closet to hide.  Talia stood squeezed against Dean’s chest as they tried to make room to fit three full grown adults, two of them the size of giants, into one small closet space.

            She was forced to bury her face into his shirt to muffle the noise of the laughter that she still couldn’t get a hold on. Talia was starting to get frustrated, it hadn’t even been that funny and she was not about to get them caught by a cop because of a stupid uncontrollable bout of laughter.

            She felt Dean’s chest rise and fall rapidly at his own silent chuckles as the two of them did their best to remain as quiet as possible.  Talia finally managed to stop as she breathed heavily but silently to regain her breath. Thankfully, the person who had entered the room, a cop she assumed, hadn’t noticed them.

            Once the sound of the cop’s footsteps had once more faded, the three of them stumbled out of the closet and Talia’s eyes widened at the sight in front of them. One of the beds in the room, was soaked in blood where Lorenzo’s roommate had been found, and the wall above it had words scratched into it and blood seeped from the letters.

            “‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?’” Talia read aloud before realizing, “That’s right out of the legend.”

            “Yeah, that’s classic Hook Man all right.” Dean agreed and then tapped his nose pointedly, “It’s definitely a spirit.”

            “Yeah, I’ve never smelled ozone this strong before.”  Sam wrinkled his nose at the smell but then pointed to a cross symbol that was etched below the writing. “Does that look familiar to you guys?”

            Talia pulled out the copied pages they’d taken from the library and looked at the drawing of the hook. “It’s the same symbol that’s engraved on the hook. I guess it is the spirit of Jacob Karns.”

            “All right,” Dean declared and Talia could tell he was happy to have a distinct course of action, “let’s find the dude’s grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down.”

            Talia argued against this as she was reading the paper and noticed some important information. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, it says here, ‘After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave.’”

            She looked up with an annoyed expression and she saw Dean and Sam had looks of frustration as well.

            “Super.” Dean complained.

            “So, we know it’s Jacob Karns. But we still don’t know where he’ll manifest next. Or why.” Sam summarized in short although Dean refuted his last statement.

            “I’ll take a wild guess about why.” He stated sarcastically. “I think Talia’s little friend Lorenzo has something to do with this.”

            Talia opened her mouth to argue but Sam cut her off by saying, “There’s no time for arguing. We need to get out of here before that cop comes back.”

            Talia only felt a small pain in her shoulder when she lowered herself carefully to the ground as the three of them crept back to the safety of the Impala to head off and continue their investigation.


	25. Chapter 25

            “Remind me again why we are here?” Dean asked as he was jostled by a girl shouldering past him with a red solo cup in her hand.  Music was blaring so loud that he had to yell to be heard over and there was people everywhere in the dimly lit room. “What does a frat party have to do with our investigation?”

            “I told you man, we are here to keep an eye on Lorenzo while we figure out what to do next.” Sam answered him as he scanned the room and Dean snorted in response. “Besides, I thought you’d love to be surrounded by all these college girls.”

            Dean didn’t reply to this statement and Sam thought he must already be looking at said girls but instead he turned to see that Dean had apparently not heard him and was glaring over at a guy who was standing in a corner across the room. Confused, Sam looked for Talia for an explanation only to find that she was no longer standing next to him.

            Getting a better idea of what was going on, Sam peered over at the guy that Dean was still glaring at and sure enough, it was Lorenzo and standing behind him, almost blocked from their view was Talia. She must have spotted him and slipped off to go talk to him.

            “Dude, quit it.” Sam smacked Dean on the arm, “You’re glaring again, like you’re gonna kill someone.”

            Dean broke his stare to look over at Sam. “No I’m not.” He protested and Sam rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything as he dragged his brother somewhere without direct eye line to Talia and Lorenzo.

            Talia looked up when she felt eyes burning into her and she caught Dean glaring over at her from the other side of the room where he stood next to Sam. Figuring he must be angry at her for sneaking away when they had a case to work on, Talia thought it was time to go back over.

            “Lorenzo, I’m really sorry but I need to go.” She apologized as she moved away from where the two of them had been hiding in the corner talking. She felt his hand reach out to grab hers and stop her from leaving.

            “Wait. Will I see you later tonight?”

            She smiled at him and nodded without knowing how she would be able to get away from Dean and Sam again. “Yeah definitely.”

            He smiled back at her and quicker than she could react, he pulled her closer leaned down to press his lips against hers. It happened so fast that she could barely register the lingering taste of the beer he had been sipping on earlier before he pulled away and she stood their frozen in shock.

            When she didn’t say anything, Lorenzo hastily apologized, “I’m sorry, that was straightforward. I’ve just wanted to do that for a while now.” He awkwardly began to back away but before he could take another step Talia strode forward and pecked his lips in another chaste kiss.

            “Not too straightforward though.” She said with a grin, and then turned to leave for real with a wide smile on her face and lips still tingling slightly.  She drifted over to where the Winchesters were, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

            Reuniting with the brothers, she declared, “Sam, you have been holding out on me. This college thing is pretty awesome.”

            Sam smiled wanly at her, feeling bad that she would never get to go to college like he had. “This wasn’t really my experience.”

            “Let me guess; libraries, studying, straight A’s?”.” Dean spoke up in a harsh voice and Talia looked over at him startled to see some strong emotion burning in his eyes although he refused to meet her gaze. Talia cringed internally, guessing he had seen her and Lorenzo kiss but not sure why it bothered her so much that he had.

            Sam’s only response was to nod and Dean sighed, “What a geek.” He turned to lead them away to a quieter part of the house before he turned back to Sam and inquired jokingly, “Alright, you do your homework?”

            “Yeah. It was bugging me, right?” Sam explained. “So how is the Hook Man tied up with Lorenzo? So, I think I came up with something.” He reached into his pocket and unrolled a couple pieces of paper which he handed to Dean who read them aloud:

            “1932. Clergyman arrested for murder. 1967. Seminarian went on a hippie rampage.”

            “There’s a pattern here.” Sam told them. “In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immortality. And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings carried out, get this, with a sharp instrument.”

            “What’s the connection to Lorenzo?” Talia asked with confusion.

            “A man of religion? Who openly preaches against immorality?”

            Suddenly it made sense to Talia, he was talking about the Reverend, Lorenzo’s father. “Except maybe this time,” Talia guessed, following Sam’s train of thought, “instead of saving the whole town he’s just trying to save his only son.”

            “Reverend Sorensen.” Dean declared skeptically, “You think he’s summoning the spirit?”

            “Maybe.” Sam stated, “Or, you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?”

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed, “the spirit latches onto the reverend’s repressed emotions, feeds off them.”

            “Without the reverend ever even knowing it.” Talia finished, a little horrified at the thought.

            “Either way,” Sam announced, “you should keep an eye on Lorenzo tonight, Talia.”

            Dean did not look excited about the suggestion and asked, “What about us?”

            “We’re gonna go see if we can find that unmarked grave.” Sam declared and Talia watched as him and Dean left the house, leaving her with the ‘tiresome’ task of hanging out at a college party all night with the guy she liked.

 

* * *

 

            The streetlight illuminated half of Talia’s body as she stood in the street outside of Lorenzo’s house.  She’d been hanging out with Lorenzo at the party for barely an hour before his dad had called him and ordered him to come back home.  She’d said goodbye to him and acted like she was going home before tailing him back to his place.

            Now she was standing outside like a creepy stalker, watching through the window into his living room as he and his dad and a huge argument.  Talia felt a little uncomfortable to be watching it but she had to make sure that nothing happened to him.

            After standing around for a bit longer, Talia decided to sit down on a nearby bench underneath the streetlight.  She slung the small bag she was carrying onto the ground next to her, hearing the rattle of the small shotgun and salt rounds that Dean had given her just in case the Hook Man showed up.  The cold from the stone bench immediately began seeping through her jeans and she shivered, wishing she’d worn a warmer jacket.

            As if in answer to her thoughts, she suddenly felt a blanket being draped around her shoulders and she turned slightly to see Lorenzo standing behind her. “I saw you from upstairs.  You looked cold.” He explained simply as he joined her on the bench, “What are you doing here?”

            Talia decided to stick with the truth. “I’m keeping an eye on the place. I was worried.”

            “About me?”

            “Yeah.” Talia ducked her head in embarrassment “Sorry.”

            “No it’s cool,” Lorenzo joked lightly, “I already called the cops.” He smiled and Talia laughed softly at the joke. “But seriously, I think you’re sweet and I can’t believe that you would sit out here in the cold because you’re worried for my safety.” He looked somber as he stared forward. “Which is probably why you should run away from me as fast as you can.”

            Talia felt shocked by his words. “Why would you say that?”

            “It’s like I’m cursed or something.” Lorenzo admitted with an anguished sigh. “People around me keep dying.”

            Talia opened her mouth to argue that it wasn’t his fault but he cut her off as he ranted:

            “No one will talk to me anymore. Except you. The Sheriff thinks I’m a suspect.” He turned to her, a spark of anger in his eyes that covered the sad look that had been there a moment before, “And you know what my dad will say? Pray. Have faith. What does he know about faith?”

            A little startled by the animosity in his voice, Talia laid a comforting arm around his shoulders as she admitted, “I heard you guys fighting before.”

            “He’s seeing a woman.” Lorenzo explained. “A married woman and I just found out. She comes to our church with her husband.  I know her kids.” He seemed to pick up steam as he ranted, “And he talks to me about religion? About morality? It’s like on one hand, you know, just do what you want and be happy. But he taught me, _raised_ me to believe that if you do something wrong you will get punished. I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

            He leaned over, seeking comfort by wrapping his arms around Talia in a hug which surprised her a bit but she returned it, feeling a little awkward.  She was never any good at dealing with people when they got super emotional and she always felt kind of uncomfortable. 

 _Must be a side effect from spending so much time around Dean ‘no chick-flick moment’_ _Winchester_ , she thought with an internal smile.  Her and the eldest Winchester usually left the emotional comforting to Sam who seemed to have a natural talent for it.

            Talia wondered how Sam and Dean were getting along and she hoped they had managed to find the grave of Jacob Karns and put an end to all the death along with the pain that Lorenzo was suffering.

            After another moment of silence, Lorenzo leaned back, breaking the hug and cupped his hands around her face. He simply stared into her eyes for a moment before he leaned forward and kissed her.

            Talia returned it eagerly, loving the feeling of his lips against hers in a warm contrast to the chilly night air. However, as he angled his head and deepened the kiss she felt a voice in the back of her mind yelling at her to stop and that she was not making a good decision.  She tried to push the voice away but it wouldn’t stop and finally she was forced to pull back and break the kiss.

            Lorenzo’s eyes shot open in surprise as she apologized, “Lorenzo, I’m sorry. I can’t-” She broke off uncomfortably, how could she explain to him how she lied to him and that she was probably going to be leaving town tonight and she would never come back. 

            She knew it was unfair of her to lead him on like this and she shouldn’t have started anything with him but she had wanted to pretend like she could be normal girl hanging out with a guy she liked.

            The sound of a door opening startled Talia from her thoughts and she turned around to see Lorenzo’s father standing in the doorway of their home with the light from inside leaking out around him into the night.

            “Lorenzo? Come inside, please.” His tone indicated that it was an order and not a request and Lorenzo bristled at him as he declared angrily:

            “I’ll come in when I’m ready.”

            Just as he finished speaking, the Hook Man materialized into existence behind the Reverend and lodged his hook into the man’s shoulder, dragging him screaming back into the house and slamming the door closed.

            Talia immediately shot up and hastily pulled out the gun from the bag on the floor, cocking it while she sprinted into the house. She paused for a moment in the foyer listening.

            “No! No, please! No!” The sound of the Reverend’s screams led her up the wooden staircase to the second floor and as she stormed up the last steps, the door at the end of the hallway slammed closed.

            Running forward, Talia burst through the door with her gun raised and found the Hook Man standing with his back to her and his hook hand raised high as he was about to plunge it down into the Reverend who was cowering down on the ground in front of him, shouting.

            Talia immediately fired off her gun which hit the spirit in the side but did not cause him to dissipate. The Hook Man rotated to face her and she shot him again, this time causing him to disappear in a cloud of dust and the rest of the rounds shattered the bedroom window behind him.

            Lorenzo came sprinting into the room from behind Talia, calling out for his father and rushing to kneel by his side as he reassured him, “Okay. It’s ok, Dad. It’s ok.”

            Talia stood watch, still gripping her gun tightly as she made sure that the Hook Man would not return while she watched Lorenzo comfort his father.

 

* * *

 

            Talia stared through a glass window at the hospital bed where Lorenzo’s father was lying, hooked up with tubes to several machines while Lorenzo stood by his father’s side with a look of concern on his face as he watched the Reverend sleeping peacefully.

            The sheriff was standing next to Talia and asking her questions about what had happened and she answered him absently as she watched a doctor enter the other room to check the man’s heart rate before speaking to Lorenzo for a moment.

            As the doctor left the room, Lorenzo looked up and made eye contact with Talia through the glass window. Talia finally turned to face the sheriff when he finished his questions and declared:

            “It seems like every time I turn around; I’m seeing you or your family. I suggest you try to keep yourselves out of trouble.”

            Talia nodded in agreement to his words and replied respectfully, “Yes, sir.”

            A familiar voice echoed down to Talia from the hallway, “No, it’s alright, we’re with her. She’s our sister.” The voice raised in volume as the speaker shouted, “Hey! Talia!”

            Talia turned to see Dean standing at the end of the hospital hallway with two cops blocking his way and Sam standing stoically behind him.  Dean had one hand raised in the air and once he saw he’d caught her attention, Talia saw him grin widely and she smiled at his goofy expression.

            “Let him through.” The sheriff commanded and Talia walked down to meet the two boys in the middle of the hallway.

            Dean’s first words were “You okay?” and once Talia had reassured him that she was fine he asked incredulously, “What the hell happened?”

            “Hook Man happened.” Talia told him.

            “You saw him?” Sam asked with surprise.

            “You’re damn right I saw him. I shot him full of rock salt.”   Talia whisper shouted, “Why didn’t you guys torch the bones?”

            “What are you talking about, we did.” Dean looked confused, “You sure it’s the spirit of Jacob Karns?”

            “Well it sure as hell looked like him when he was stabbing Lorenzo’s father.” Talia replied sarcastically. “And that’s not all. I don’t think the spirit is latching on to the reverend.”

            She continued before they could interrupt her, “I think it’s latching onto Lorenzo. Last night he found out that his father is having an affair with a married woman.”

            “So what?” Dean inquired.

            “So,” Talia explained, “he’s upset about it. He’s upset about the immorality of it and he told me he was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished.”

            Dean and Sam seemed to be catching on as Sam concluded, “Ok, so he’s conflicted. And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to his repressed emotions and maybe he’s doing the punishing for him?”

            “Exactly.” Talia listed off the incidents so far, “Rachel comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make him into a typical frat guy, Dad has an affair.”

            “Remind me not to piss this dude off.” Dean joked before adding seriously, “But we burned those bones, we _buried_ them in salt. Why didn’t that stop him?”

            “You guys must have missed something.”

            “No.” Sam argued, “we burned everything in that coffin.”

            Talia took a moment to consider this before a thought struck her. “Did you get the hook?”

            “The hook?” Dean questioned.

            “Yeah, it was the murder weapon, right? And, in a way, it was a part of him. So maybe, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power.”

            “So if we find the hook…” Sam trailed off.

            “We stop the Hook Man.” Talia and Dean finished at the same time causing them to smile at each other.

            The trio spent the rest of the day back in the library, looking through old records for the whereabouts of the silver hook.  After lots of painstaking research, they discovered that the hook had been given to the church who had melted it down and re-forged it into something else.

            They had then split up with Sam going into the Reverend’s home to grab anything silver he could find while Dean and Talia ransacked the church to burn all the silver items in there.

            Now, Talia was standing in the basement of the church handing items to Dean while he tossed them into the furnace where he’d started a blazing fire.  She felt a trickle of sweat run down her forehead from the heat of the flames.

            She turned at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs to see Sam entering with large bag slung over his shoulder that rattled as he moved.

            “I got everything that even looked silver.” He announced as he dropped the bag on the ground next to the pile that Dean and Talia had gathered.

            “Better safe than sorry.” Dean agreed as he turned and helped Talia to throw the entire bag into the flames along with the last couple of loose items.

            A noise sounded from above them and they all froze listening to hear footsteps on the upper floor.  Reacting quickly, Dean grabbed his gun and lead the way upstairs to investigate.

            Talia followed from behind and emerged at the top of the stairs to see the two brothers staring at the source of the commotion which turned out to be Lorenzo, who was sitting in a pew facing away from them, crying.

            Sam nodded over with his head to indicate that Talia should go talk to him while he dragged Dean back into the basement with him.

            Talia walked forward cautiously and called out when she got near him “Lorenzo?”

            The boy turned in surprise and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes in embarrassment. “What are you doing here?”

            Talia ignored the question and instead asked with concern, “What is it?”

            “I’ve been trying to understand what’s been happening. Why? Now I know so I’m praying for forgiveness.”

            “Forgiveness for what?” Talia questioned as sat down next to him in the pew.

            “Don’t you see?” His voice got desperate, “I’m to blame for all this. I’ve read in the Bible about avenging angels.”

            “Trust me, this guy – he’s no angel.” Talia could tell Lorenzo didn’t believe her as he continued to blame himself.

            “I was so angry at my father. Part of me wanted him punished. And then he came and he punished him.”

            “It’s not your fault.” Talia insisted strongly. Regardless of whose emotions the spirit had latched onto, Talia knew that Lorenzo would never have wished death upon anyone.

            “Yes, it is.” He argued, “I don’t know how, but it is. I killed Rachel. Taylor, too. And I nearly killed my father.”

            “Lorenzo…” Talia sighed but he continued unabated.

            “I can see it now. They didn’t deserve to be punished.” He looked up to meet her eyes solemnly. “I do.”

            A noise swept through the hallway of the church causing Talia to stand up swiftly and look around for the source of the noise.  She saw the candles at the altar in the front blow out and she knew the Hook Man was there.

            “Come on. We gotta go.” She grabbed Lorenzo and led him towards the door that lead down to the basement where Sam and Dean were.

            When she opened the door, the Hook Man was waiting behind in it and she slammed it close in fright. The spirit smashed its hook through the door, smashing parts of the wood and sending splinters flying.

            “Go!” Talia screamed at Lorenzo as she grabbed his hand and they sprinted back down the aisle. The rounded the corner of the pews and went into a back room slamming the door shut behind them.

            Before it could close completely, the glass in the door shattered as the Hook Man thrust his hook through it.  Talia turned to stand in the doorway to block it from getting to Lorenzo and it swiped its hook at her. She ducked, feeling the wind sweep across the top of her head as the sharp metal barely missed her.  She was forced to dodge the side a couple more times as it took a few more swipes at her but thankfully she managed to avoid his swings.

            As it got closer to the corner where Lorenzo was hiding, she huddled the terrified boy behind her and guided him across the room as far away she could get him from the evil spirit trying to kill them.  The spirit continued stalking them and Talia tried to lead it farther into the room so they could skirt around him and flee from the room.

            When the Hook Man was a few feet in front of them, Talia pushed Lorenzo in front of her as she led him around the spirit back towards the exit.  He managed to dart around and head towards the door and Talia ducked under another hook swing to follow after him.

            However, just as Talia thought she’d made it past the apparition and to the door she felt a blinding pain in her shoulder, the same one that was still healing from her encounter with the shapeshifter.  She screamed aloud at the pain as the hook lodged itself deep inside and tore open the old wound.

            She nearly shouted again at the tearing sensation as the ghost ripped the hook free. She watched as Lorenzo was knocked down onto his back and dragged all the way down the hallway but an invisible force.

            Her left arm hung uselessly at her side as she ran after him, desperate to keep Lorenzo safe.

            “Come on. You okay?” Just as she crouched down to check if he was okay, a swift uppercut under her jaw knocked her across the room into a wall above a bookshelf.  She landed back on the ground on her stomach and groaned as the bookshelf behind her fell over on top of her legs.

            The sight of the Hook Man standing over Lorenzo spurned Talia into movement and she used her good arm to drag herself from beneath the bookshelf, straining her legs to get free from the heavy weight pinning her down.

            She managed to slip free and stand up behind the spirit but before she could do anything, Dean’s voice cried out from back down the hallway.

            “Talia, drop!”

            Without hesitation, Talia crouched down out of the way and heard Dean fire a single shot causing the Hook Man to disappear into a puff of dust and she saw Sam and Dean come running into the room. 

            “I thought we got all the silver.” She declared in confusion.

            “So did I.” Dean agreed.

            “Then why is he still here?”

            “Maybe we missed something.” Sam suggested and the three of them began scanning around the room and then Talia noticed a cross necklace hanging from Lorenzo’s neck.

            “Lorenzo, where did you get that chain?” Talia asked hurriedly.

            “My father gave it to me.” He explained holding onto the cross.

            “Where’d your dad get it?” Dean asked.

            “He said it was a church heirloom, he gave it to me when I started school.”

            “Is it silver?” Talia inquired, praying that it was.

            “Yes!” Lorenzo exclaimed, catching on quickly although not aware why it was important, just knowing it was.

            Not waiting on protocol, Talia leaned over and ripped the chain off from around his neck.  Further down in the hallway behind all of them, a scratching noise emerged and they saw a thin line trace along the wall as the Hook Man, now invisible, drew his hook along the wall as he headed towards them.

            “Sam!” Talia called out and threw the necklace to him which he caught and raced towards to basement to throw it into the fire.  Meanwhile, Dean hurried further into the room to stand next to Talia, who was still sitting on the floor next to Lorenzo.

            Dean followed the scratch along the wall with the gun, aiming for where the Hook Man would be and then fired at it, cracking the mortar of the wall but he didn’t seem to hit it. He crouched in front of Talia as he hurried to reload the weapon with the rounds from his pocket.

            Once the gun was reloaded, he swiveled to point the weapon at the spirit again but before he could fire, it appeared suddenly and knocked the gun from his hand causing Dean to fall backwards.

            The Hook Man stood looming over the three of them on the floor with his hook raised menacingly as he prepared to slash it down at them.  Just as we went to move, the hook on his hand melted and then his whole body caught fire until he burned away to nothing. 

            Sam came sprinting back into the room a moment later to make sure it was gone and Talia sighed in exhaustion, glad to be rid of the angry spirit once and for all.

 

* * *

 

            Another morning arrived to find Talia sitting in the back of an ambulance being taken care of by paramedics.  They finally finished bandaging her arm, which was once more in a sling, and she stood up to leave as Lorenzo approached her.

            “You going to be okay?” He asked her with concern in his eyes.

            “Yeah, I’ve had worse.” She replied honestly.

            “I still don’t know what happened.” He admitted. “But I do know you saved my life. My father’s, too. Thank you.”

            Talia nodded at him and smiled and stood there for a moment feel bad about just leaving but knowing that there was no way to explain they many reasons why they could never work. So instead, she just walked away without another word and headed towards where Sam and Dean were waiting by the Impala.

            Talia said nothing as she got into the backseat of the car and sat down silently although both Winchesters could see the bitter sadness in her eyes as she stared out the window.

            Dean looked back at her sympathetically and declared softly, “We could stay.”

            Talia shook her head but refused to say anything, knowing that although Dean’s offer was sincere it would never work out; they had a different road to travel down and as much as she might wish otherwise at times, she was committed to finish the journey she had started.

 

* * *

 

            They pulled into a motel late that night and Talia had remained quiet the entire car ride.  When they entered their room, she dropped her bag tiredly on the bed and began shuffling through it looking for some clothes to sleep in.  She threw unwanted clothes out on the bed, her exhaustion making her short tempered as she searched for her pajamas.

            She finally found them in the very bottom of her bag and clutched them triumphantly as she shuffled to the bathroom, too lost in her own thoughts to worry about the mess she had made with the contents of her duffle bag flung across the bed.

            Dean mumbled something about going out to get some beer and left the motel room while Sam walked over to set his own bag down to change.  As he stood between the two beds her heard a slight rustling noise and looked down to see he had stepped on some sort of paper that must have fallen out of Talia’s bag in her haphazard shuffling through it.

            He bent down to pick it up and curiosity over what papers she might have buried in her bag made him turn it over to look at it closer despite knowing how wrong it was to snoop through her belongings.

            He quickly realized it was a large envelope addressed to Talia and when he read the return address he froze in shock.  Looking up quickly to reassure himself that Talia was still in the bathroom and that Dean hadn’t returned, Sam sat down to read the contents of the envelope that had already been opened.

            The first paper he pulled out was folded and crinkled in such a way that told him it had been opened and read many different times.  He scanned through it slowly, his eyes widening in horror as he read through the contents of the letter.  He set it aside and looked through the other papers included in the envelope and with every paper he read, his shock and anger grew.


	26. Chapter 26

            Talia was in a foul mood and she stared at the ceiling aimlessly, wondering if she could truly die of boredom.  She was lying in the bed of a vacant home that the three of them were squatting in while Dean and Sam were out working a case that had something to do with the death of a construction worker and beetles.

            After she had reinjured her shoulder and been forced to once more wear a sling, Dean had refused to let her do any hunting until it healed completely.  She was furious at his suggestion and had argued loudly with him about it until he’d yelled at her that he’d be distracted if he was too busy worrying about making sure she wasn’t getting hurt again.

            The comment had stung, not that she let him see that, she hated feeling like she couldn’t take care of herself and to hear Dean tell her that she couldn’t was a huge blow to her pride.

            Her mood had decreased even further when she’d called to Sam for his support and he’d flatly declared that she should just stay quiet and stay put while they took care of this case.  Talia had deflated completely and all desire to fight had left her in the face of a quarrel with both brothers.

            Sam had been mad at her for days now and she couldn’t figure out the reason for the life of her.  He continued acting like nothing was wrong but she’d noticed he refused to talk to her unless absolutely necessary and he avoided being in close proximity with her at all costs. 

            Talia couldn’t imagine what she could have done to piss him off and between his anger and Dean’s overbearing protectiveness, she felt like she was being attacked from every side.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the tensions in the group were causing Sam and Dean to get into arguments as well. 

            Dean had gone into a bar to hustle people at pool the night before, something that Talia normally helped him do but she’d been denied on account of her bad arm.  When he’d returned triumphant, Sam had voiced his disapproval of his brother’s methods for obtaining money and the two had quarreled over it.

            Normally such an argument wasn’t a big deal for the two brothers, but they’d continued to bicker off and on for the last day as they worked the case together and since Talia was stuck in the house all day she wasn’t present to play moderator.

            Her phone rang noisily and the sound echoed through the empty house but Talia only glared at it, knowing it had to be Dean calling and in her resentment, she considered just letting it go to voicemail. 

Realizing the immaturity in that move and that he was probably calling about the case, she leaned over and answered with a curt hello.  It was a sign of how bad things had gotten between the group when Dean didn’t even question the less than civil tone she’d used.

            He went right into telling her about the information they’d discovered so far as well as discussing the developer of the new housing district who they’d met at a barbeque he had been hosting.  Dean went on a small anecdote about the developer’s son who apparently had a obsession with bugs and had been thoroughly scolded by his father for trying to scare a woman with a spider.

            “Remind you of somebody?” Sam called out, alerting Talia that the phone was on speaker.

            “Dad?” Dean questioned in shock. “He never treated us like that.”

            “Well, Dad never treated _you_ like that. You and Talia were perfect. He was all over my case.” Sam’s voice was full of resentment. “You don’t remember?”

            Talia wasn’t sure it was fair to say that John had treated Dean any better than Sam.  He might have been extra tough on Sam but that didn’t mean the way he raised Dean was any better.

            “Sam-” She tried to cut in.

            “Just stay out of this, Talia.” Sam cut her off before she could say anything and she frowned at the phone.

            “Maybe he had to raise his voice” Dean conceded, “but sometimes, you were out of line.”

            Sam scoffed. “Right, like when I said I’d rather play soccer than learn bow-hunting.”

            “Bow-hunting’s an important skill.” Dean argued.

            “Whatever.” Talia could almost hear Sam rolling his eyes as he spoke.

            Letting the topic go, Dean inquired, “So did you find anything out on that lead I sent you earlier?”

            Talia read off to them the information she’d found using Sam’s laptop after Dean had texted her some things to look into. Once she had relayed all the information to Dean, Sam staying noticeably quiet for the rest of the conversation, she hung up.

            With nothing better to do, Talia dug one of the few books she’d packed into her bag and settled down to read, hoping to pass the time quickly.  She prayed that this case didn’t take very long because she wasn’t sure she could take many days cooped up in this house. 

            It reminded her of the first couple days alone in the house after John had forced her to quit hunting.  It had taken awhile for her to get used to staying in the same place for so long and for awhile she thought she might go crazy at the lack of excitement.

            Later in the day, Sam and Dean walked back into the home and were in mid-argument as they entered the vacant house.

            “So, with that kid back there…Why’d you tell him to just ditch his family like that?” Dean demanded, tossing his bag onto the floor.

            “Just, uh…” Sam seemed reluctant, “I know what the kid’s going through.”

            Talia wasn’t sure she wanted to sit and listen to another one of the brother’s arguments but they were still standing in front of the door so she had nowhere to escape to.

            “How about telling him to respect his old man, how’s that for advice?” Dean asked sarcastically.

            “Dean, come on. This isn’t about his old man. You think I didn’t respect Dad. That’s what this is about.”

            Talia felt like this wasn’t an argument she should be listening to but neither brother seemed to pay attention to her presence as she watched them go back and forth.

            “Just forget it, all right?” Dean said dismissively, “Sorry I brought it up.”

            Sam didn’t let it go. “I respected him. But no matter what I did, it was never good enough.”

            Talia was astonished at the young Winchester’s words. “What are you saying? You think that he was disappointed in you?”

            “Was?” Sam turned to her, forgetting his recent dedication at avoiding all conversation with her, “Is. Always has been.”

            “Why would you think that?” Dean sounded just as surprised as Talia.

            “Because I didn’t want to bow-hunt or hustle pool.” Sam explained tiredly, “Because I wanted to go to school and live my life, which, to our whacked-out family, made me the freak.”

            “Yeah, you were kind of like the blonde chick in The Munsters.” Dean joked.

            “Dean,” Sam sighed in exasperation, “you know what most dads are when their kids score a full ride? Proud. Most dads don’t toss their kids out of the house.” His voice had risen by the time he finished speaking.

            “I remember that fight.” Talia could hear the hurt in Dean’s voice and she remembered how distraught Dean had been after Sam had left. She’d spent the entire night trying to make him feel better but had felt like an inadequate replacement for his missing brother.  Dean quickly covered his pain with an accusation, “I seem to recall a few choice phrases coming out of your mouth.”

            Sam brushed off the allegation and instead admitted. “You know, truth is, when we finally do find Dad…I don’t know if he’s even gonna want to see me.”

            Talia felt a spark of irritation at Sam’s words and how he continued to believe a lie.   She was also tired of Sam constantly attacking Dean about John and taking his anger out on his brother. Talia wasn’t likely to forget the pain of the night Sam had left and he didn’t understand how much his family had loved and missed him. “Sam,” She informed him, “John was never disappointed in you. Never. He was scared.”

            Sam scoffed with a smirk. “What are you talking about?”

            “He was afraid of what could’ve happened to you if he wasn’t around.” Dean explained for her.  “But even when you two weren’t talking…he used to swing by Stanford whenever he could.” Sam’s smile seemed to fade at Dean’s words. “He’d keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe.”

            “What? Why didn’t either of you tell me any of that?” Sam still looked unconvinced and his disbelief seemed to set off all the negative emotions Talia had bottled up from the past couple days.

            “Well, Sam. It’s a two-way street.” Her words were laced heavily with sarcasm.  “You could’ve picked up the phone.” She felt her anger rising. “But you were too wrapped up in your own anger that you couldn’t see how lucky you were and how much your family cared about you.”

            Her voice had risen significantly and both boys looked slightly surprised by her rage. “Stop pretending like you were the only one affected by it. You couldn’t see the damage you caused when you ran off to go to college and live your dreams.”

            Sam started to gain a spark of anger as she ranted at him and he fired back. “At least I had the guts to follow my dreams and make my own decision.  Besides, you left too! You have no right to lecture me about abandoning family.”

            “At least you had a choice!” Talia was yelling at this point, livid at Sam’s words. “At least you were the one that left. I didn’t get one when John left me all alone! Do you know what it feels like to have literally the _only_ people left in your life abandon you? Do you know how much it hurts-”

            Talia swallowed, cutting herself off, and forced her voice back down to a low tone as she declared evenly. “You _chose_ to go and you left the people that cared about you behind to pick up the pieces and now you have the audacity to…” She sighed. “I don’t want to hear another word about how much your Dad hated you.”

            Feeling her eyes burning with tears that threatened to fall, she swiped at her face, turning and stomping out of the room.  She hadn’t meant to get so emotional but her frustration with both brothers had finally broken through.

            Dean made a move as if to go after her but Sam caught his arm and told him, “We have to go, we’re gonna be late for our appointment with the college professor.”

            Dean sighed, staring at where Talia had disappeared towards the other side of the house before he relented and left with Sam.

            Talia was slightly embarrassed at how emotional she’d gotten in her rant earlier and she was now feeling sad as well as angry.  She moped about the empty house, listening to sad music, and wallowing in self-pity as she hummed along to the music.  She smiled slightly as she realized she could be the star of an edgy music video with her hopeless pacing.

            The hours of the day ticked past and she still hadn’t seen or heard a peep from Sam and Dean since they’d left to go talk to a college professor. While she was happy to avoid talking to them after the argument, she was slightly worried about not hearing from them all day but she told herself they probably were too caught up in the case and forgot about her.

            A muffled buzzing sound jolted Talia awake from the bed where she’d accidentally fallen asleep.  She looked around in confusion for the source of the sound and strained her ears as she struggled to determine what the noise was.  The sound slowly got louder and louder and she walked towards the front door to look outside.

            As soon as the door cracked open, a swarm of flying bugs flooded into the room and attacked her face.  Talia shrieked and slammed the door shut but they continued to fly in from the cracks around it.  Swatting at them with her hands, she backed up slowly and tried to keep from completely losing her cool.

            She had a deep phobia of bugs and was completely freaked out by them so the sensation of their tiny bodies surrounding her in the air was terrifying her.  Talia quickly rushed towards the bathroom to escape from the assaulting insects.

            She kicked the door shut behind her and scrambled to find a towel to shove under the door and stop anything from getting underneath it.  Within five minutes, she had every nook and cranny cut off and she huddled into the corner farthest away from the door.  In that moment, she was eternally grateful that the bathroom didn’t have a window in it.

            Eyes trained on the door in case any critters made it through her defenses, she dialed Dean’s number on the cell so he could explain what in the hell was going on.  However, she wasn’t getting any signal and her call wouldn’t go through.

            She slid down to the floor and resigned herself to waiting out the storm while she breathed deeply through her nose trying to calm her fear but still refusing to look way from the door for even a moment.  After what felt like an eternity later, the sounds of the insects pelting themselves against the door seemed to stop and Talia stood up carefully, listening for any sign of what was going on outside.

            It was another 30 minutes of silence before she mustered up the courage to ease the door open and look out.  Dozens of bug carcasses littered the floor around the bathroom door but the large swarm seemed to have disappeared and she sighed in relief.  She was careful to avoid touching any of the insects as she exited the bathroom.

            It wasn’t long after that the brothers returned home and while they looked dead on their feet, they didn’t appear to be wounded.  Apparently, the two of them had been protecting the developer’s family that was also attacked by a swarm of bugs which had disappeared come sunrise.  Too exhausted from the last few days to care more about the specific details of the case, Talia soon crawled into bed, looking forward to getting on the road again.

 

* * *

 

            Dripping blood, warm and wet on her face.  A bright blue light, both blinding and warm.  A deep, gruff voice chanting words in a language she didn’t understand.  Light flooding her body in searing pain.  A cloud of shadow trying to blot out the light and the two swirling around each other, light and dark opposing each other and fighting for dominance. A flash of silver and then the darkness was gone and light shone out brighter than ever until it overwhelmed all her senses.

            Jolting awake, Talia was immediately confused to find herself standing in a grassy lawn in a suburban neighborhood.  Looking around, her surroundings were vaguely familiar until she turned completely and saw her childhood home standing before her.  Just across the street was what she assumed to be the Winchester’s old house although she only knew it from the pictures she’d seen of it.

            Turning back to her own house, she stared up at it in fascination, it was a simple two story white building but something about it struck her as odd.  Then she realized there was a face staring out at her from the second story window, looking down at her as if it was waiting for her.  In a blink of her eyes, she was suddenly transported into the room where the mysterious figure was standing.

            Talia was close enough to get a good look at the man, who was rocking a long tan trench coat, with a simple black suit on underneath and a slightly crooked blue tie on.  He had short black hair and piercing ocean blue eyes which started Talia slightly as they reminded her of the blinding blue light from a moment ago.

            Recovering from the shock of the whole situation, she asked, “Who are you? And what am I doing here? As a matter of fact, _how_ did I get here? Last time I checked I was several states away from Kansas.”  Despite her long rambling list of questions, the man across from her didn’t speak a single word.  He simply tilted his head slightly to the side and stared at her in a manner reminiscent of a confused puppy.

            The mental image provoked a brief chuckle from her which was deeply inappropriate given the circumstances and she saw a look of confusion enter his eyes before his face fell back into an emotionless mask.  Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask him more questions, he declared, “You must come to this place.”  There was a flood of blue light again as Talia called out:

            “What do you mean?!” She quickly realized that she was back in the motel room she’d fallen asleep in the night before, sitting up in her bed.  Everything felt surreal after the crazy dream she just had and she wondered how a dream of the night of her mother died had turned into that strange interaction with the man in the trench coat.

            She spent the next couple hours of the morning racking her brain trying to figure out when she’d seen a picture of her home.  She was sure that her father had never shown her a photo of it and she was sure as hell that John would never have had a picture of it.  But then how in the hell was had she known what it looked like, the last time she had been there she was six months old and far too young to remember anything.

            “Am I boring you too with this hunting evil stuff?” Dean’s annoyed voice broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find him glaring at her and Sam.  Sam had been scribbling on a piece of paper and apparently neither of them had been paying attention while Dean had been listing off a horde of different potential cases for them to investigate.

            “No. I’m listening. Keep going.” Sam replied before going back to furiously sketching.

            Dean continued to list things off and this time Talia made an effort to pay attention although her thoughts continued to drift off again until she noticed Sam continuing to focus on his drawing and Dean looked over at him in resigned exasperation.

            “Any of these blowin, up your skirt, pal?”

            Sam was silent and Talia thought for a moment that he hadn’t heard Dean until he announced, “Wait, I’ve seen this.”  Sam darted across the room and pulled out John’s journal, rummaging through it for a moment before pulling out a photo and comparing it to his drawing. “I know where we have to go next.”

            “Where?” Dean inquired skeptically.

            “Back home – back to Kansas.”

            Talia froze and stared in shock at Sam at his words.  This couldn’t be a coincidence after the strange dream she’d just had but she wondered why Sam was suggesting the return; maybe he had a similar dream of his own house.

            Dean seemed just as confused, “Okay, random. Where’d that come from?”

            Sam turned both his drawing and the photo he’d picked up so Dean and Talia could see them.  The photo was a picture of the all four Winchesters standing outside their home in Kansas, which was fresh in Talia’s mind after seeing it only a couple hours earlier although it was eerie to see an exact replica of the structure from her dream.  Behind the smiling family was an old tree which Sam had drawn an exact replica of.

            “So, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?” Sam explained urgently while Talia and Dean nodded along in agreement. “And it didn’t burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?”

            “I guess so, yeah.” Dean replied slowly. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

            “Okay, look,” Sam seemed to rein in his desperation to give more details, “this is gonna sound crazy but…the people who live in our old house – I think they might be in danger.”

            “Why would you think that?” Dean questioned in confusion.

            Sam seemed reluctant to answer. “Uh…it’s just, um…look, just trust me on this, okay?”  He crossed the room in a cloud of nervous energy and began hastily packing his bag. Talia could feel the restless nerves coming off him from across the room.  

            Dean stood up to argue but Talia stayed seated, recent experience had taught her that any attempts to talk with Sam would be shut down so she did what she normally did when the two brothers argued and sat back to listen unless things got too far out of control.

            “Wait. Whoa, whoa, trust you?”

            “Yeah.” Sam said like it was the simplest thing in the world.  Talia knew that in normal circumstances this was odd enough and Dean would be likely to doubt it but the arguments the three of them had been having during the last case had been followed by a week of travel that was filled with far too many silences.  Something about the group’s relationship had been broken, and Talia was starting to worry that it wasn’t going to get fixed.

            “Come on, man, that’s weak. You gotta give me a little bit more than that.”  Dean raised his hands in irritation.  Talia waited eagerly to see what Sam’s explanation was, wanting to know if he too had experienced some strange vision in his dream.

            “I can’t really explain it is all.” Sam replied weakly.

            “Well, tough.” Dean stood his ground stubbornly. “I’m not going anywhere until you do.”  Sam sighed but Dean just continued to stare at him, waiting expectantly.

            “I have these nightmares.”  Talia perked up at his words, listening intently.

            “I’ve noticed.” Dean remarked sarcastically.

            “And sometimes…they come true.”

            Talia thought her jaw would hit the floor as she gawked at Sam in complete surprise.  She’d known the two of them both struggled with nightmares but she hadn’t known that he’d had some premonition-like ones as well.  She recalled the time right before they’d dropped Sam back off at Stanford, the night that Jessica died, Talia had woken up from a bad dream she couldn’t quite remember and then had a bad feeling in her stomach as soon as they had left Sam.  She remembered a couple other times where she’d had dreams that had ended up relating to the cases they’d solved.

            This brought to mind that strange energy that she’d felt inside her on several occasions, maybe Sam too had been dealing with it this whole time.  She felt a wave of relief to think that she wasn’t alone and although she hadn’t noticed the energy build up in a while now.

            Dean was gazing at Sam looking completely stunned and at a loss for words, “Come again?”

            “Look, Dean…I dreamt about Jessica’s death – for days before it happened.” Sam explained sadly.

            “Sam, people have weird dreams, man.” He argued, “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.”

            “No,” Sam refuted vehemently, “I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything. And I didn’t do anything about it ‘cause I didn’t believe it.”  Talia could here the guilt that was heavy in his voice and she felt a stab of pain for him but Sam moved on quickly, “And now I’m dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help.  I mean, that’s where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?”

            Talia furrowed her brow in perplexity as she realized that Sam’s dream had been completely different from hers. She hadn’t seen anyone in danger, just that strange man beckoning her to return to the place of her birth.

            “I don’t know.” Dean seemed overwhelmed by this new information as he sat down and stared at the picture of his family.

            “What do you mean you don’t know, Dean?” Sam questioned frantically while he sat down across from his brother and continued talking with desperation. “This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!”

            Talia was about to speak up, and explain that she too had a dream pushing her to go back to Kansas but before she could say anything, Dean stood up in agitation and began pacing, “All right, just slow down, would ya? I mean, first you tell me that you’ve got the Shining? And then you tell me that I’ve gotta go back home? Especially when…” He trailed off into silence.

            At that, Talia decided to forego sharing her similar dream experiences, she didn’t want to be faced with the same disbelief from Dean and the anger she would get from Sam for daring to speak to him.  She couldn’t handle that kind of argument after the days of disagreements, she was just too tired.  Plus, if she admitted to herself, a small part of her thought Sam deserved to strange looks he was getting from Dean for how he’d been treating her the last couple days. 

            “When what?” Sam asked in puzzlement.

            Dean’s voice was sad as he replied, “When I swore to myself that I would never go back there.”  He looked away as emotion overwhelmed his voice.

            This statement sobered the tone of the room immensely and Sam answered back just as softly. “Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure.”

            Dean was silent as he took in the sincerity and seriousness in Sam’s expression before answering. “I know we do.”

            The three of them packed up in silence and it gave Talia the perfect opportunity to sink back into her thoughts and consider everything that had happened.  Sam had been having weird dreams just like her but his sounded a lot more specific then hers.  Maybe her dreams were just dreams after all and she was just seeing something that wasn’t there.  After all, most of the time she never really remembered them when she woke up and none of them were as detailed as Sam had described.

            The more she thought about it, the more she resolved to stay quiet about it all, there was no point freaking Dean out more over something she wasn’t even sure about yet.  After determining that her dream last night had just been a strange apparition conjured up by her subconscious, Talia settled down in the backseat of the car for the long ride back to Kansas.


	27. Chapter 27

            Talia watched Dean in concern as they were parked along the street in Lawrence, Kansas and he stared out at the familiar four walls of the Winchester house.  She wanted to say some words of comfort but she knew there wasn’t anything that she could do to help, something told her that this was something Dean needed to deal with, head on.  However, she couldn’t stop from asking:

            “You gonna be all right?”

            He broke his fixed gaze from the house to glance back at her and replied simply, “Let me get back to you on that.”

             As they got out of the car, Talia glanced over at her old house and for a moment she thought she saw a man’s face in the second story window but she shook it off, refusing to believe her dream was real.  The three of them approached the house and knocked on the front door.  A woman answered the door with a confused smile. “Yes?”

            “Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we’re with the Federal-”

            Sam cut Dean off before he could continue and told her honestly, “I’m Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean and our friend, Talia. We used to live here. You know, we were just driving by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place.”

            The girl seemed to relax a bit upon hearing their names and mumbled under breath, “Winchester.” She spoke louder, “Yeah, that’s so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night.”

            “You did?” Dean asked in surprise.  The woman nodded and stepped aside to gesture them into the home:

            “Come on in.”

            Sam immediately stepped past the threshold but Dean seemed to hesitate as he stared into the hallway.  Taking the initiative, Talia grabbed a hold of his hand, squeezing it once to tell him she was there for silent support as she pulled him into the house and joked, “Come on, let’s see if she found any embarrassing baby photos of you.”

            Dean didn’t say anything in response but he let himself be dragged forward and the returning squeeze of his hand let Talia know he was grateful as he looked around in wonderment at what had been his home for the first four years of his life. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the home, she felt an odd chill up her spine and all the hairs on her arms stood straight up as if she’d received a small electric shock.  Shivering slightly, she tightened her hold on Dean’s hand before pulling him deeper into the home.

            The woman, whose name they learned was Jenny, introduced them to her two children, a young toddler named Ritchie and an older girl, about 7 years old, named Sari.  Over small talk, they learned that she had just moved in and had been experiencing flickering lights, the sink had backed up, and been hearing scratching noises in the basement.  She chalked all this up to the house getting old but Talia knew that these were all signs of something bad.

            At one point, they learned that the daughter, Sari, had seen a figure on fire in her closet one night and although her mother told her it was just a nightmare, Talia exchanged a knowing glance with Dean, who had relaxed enough to let go of her hand but she kept close to his side.  They left the house not too long after that and as soon as the door closed behind them, Sam started exclaiming:

            “You hear that? A figure on fire.”

            “And that woman,” Dean asked calmly, “Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?”

            “Yeah.” Sam agreed hurriedly. “And you hear what she was talking about?”

            Talia ticked off the two big ones, “Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit.”

            “Well, I’m just freaked out that Sam’s weirdo visions are coming true.” Dean declared.

            “Well forget about that for a minute.” Sam seemed panicked and rather confrontational. “The thing in the house, do you think it’s the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?”

            “I don’t know!” Dean shouted, finally breaking his calm demeanor and facing Sam.

            “Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?” Sam asked in frustration and Talia wasn’t sure why he thought Dean had all the answers. He knew just as much as Sam did.

            “Sam, we don’t know yet.  It could be something else entirely.” Talia spoke soothingly, trying to ease the high tensions.

            “Well, those people are in danger. We have to get them out of that house.” Sam declared strongly.

            “And we will.” Dean replied as he headed to the driver’s side of the Impala.

            Sam wasn’t mollified though and argued loudly, “No, I mean now.”

            Dean swiveled back around sharply and replied just as loudly as he yelled, “And how you gonna do that, huh? You got a story that she’s gonna believe?”

            “Then what are we supposed to do?” Sam asked incredulously.

            “What we need to do right now, is go somewhere else to figure this out.” Talia indicated to the house they had just left. “She’s gonna think we are creepy if we just hang outside here after she gave us a tour. So, let’s head out and we can work out our next move somewhere else.”

            There was a moment where both boys continued to stare at each other before the tension in the air seemed to diffuse and the two of them looked away and got into the car.  Talia sighed, she had a feeling that this case was only going to cause more strife for the Winchesters.

 

* * *

 

            Out of gas once more, the trio was stopped at a gas station and they were all lounging around the Impala discussing the case although this time in a less heated manner.  They were discussing what they would do if this was a normal case like any other and Dean mentioned how they already knew what happened before.

            “Yeah, but how much do we know?” Sam spoke up, “I mean, how much do you actually remember?”

            “About that night, you mean?” Dean inquired softly.

            “Yeah.”

            “Not much.” Talia saw Dean stare off into the distance as he remembered and told them somberly, “I remember the fire…the heat.” He paused for a moment as if in hesitation before finishing abruptly, “And then I carried you out the front door.”

            Sam seemed surprised at this. “You did?”

            Dean looked over at his brother, “Yeah, what, you never knew that?”

            Sam shook his head. “No.” He seemed deep in thought as he digested this new revelation.

            Dean continued talking as Sam didn’t say anything more, “And, well, you know Dad’s story as well as I do. Mom was…was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her.”

            “And he never had a theory about what did it?” Sam wondered in confusion.

            “If he did,” Dean declared, “he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times.”

            While the conversation lapsed for a moment, Talia figured it was safe to speak up. “So, if we’re gonna figure out what’s going on now, we have to figure out what happened back then. And then see if it’s the same thing.”

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed, “We’ll talk to Dad’s friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time.”

            There was another short pause before Sam looked over at his older brother and asked, “Does this feel like just another job to you?”

            Dean didn’t reply for a long time and Talia looked over at him curiously, wondering what his reply would be.  However, when he did finally speak it was only to say, “I’ll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom.”

            Talia watched Dean walk away in suspicion, something seemed off but she couldn’t figure out what is was and she played it off as tension from the personal nature of this case.  She sat awkwardly next to Sam in silence for a minute and realized this was the longest the two of them had been alone together in weeks.

            She quickly felt uncomfortable with the tension in the air between them and after a couple of minutes had passed she hopped off the hood and headed over to where Dean had gone with the excuse, “I think I’m going to go to the bathroom too, before we leave.”

            She turned the corner and was surprised to see Dean standing with his back to her, talking to someone on the phone. She froze and was about to announce her presence when she heard the telltale sound of a sob erupt from his mouth.  She didn’t know what to do except stand there and listen to him cry silently while he spoke into the phone.

            “…I don’t know what to do.” Talia could hear the pain and anguish in Dean’s voice as he continued speaking through tears, “So, whatever you’re doing, if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad.”

            Talia felt her heart shatter at the desperation in his voice and how utterly lost he sounded as he hung up the phone and simply stood there, with his back still towards her.  Talia couldn’t just leave him there in such pain without doing something and although she knew he’d be upset for anyone to see him being emotional, she refused to leave and let him suffer alone. 

            “Dean.” She breathed and he swiveled around sharply at his name and stared at her in shock.  She could see the tracks of tears where they fell down his cheeks and before he could say or do anything she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, squeezing him in a hug that said far more than she could ever put into words. 

            She knew him well enough to know not say a word, so she simply offered the comfort of her embrace.  He hugged her back just as tightly and with a desperation to it as he buried his head on her shoulder.  They stayed like that for a while until he finally let go of her and she lifted the corner of her mouth in a half-smile of reassurance before simply turning and walking back towards the car, giving him a moment alone to compose himself completely. 

            It was another minute before Dean emerged from around the corner once more and although he didn’t look it, Talia could tell he was slightly on edge and seemed to be sensing the mood in the car as if to see whether she had said something to Sam about what she’d seen.  When neither of them spoke up, Dean seemed to accept that she hadn’t mentioned anything and settled more comfortably into the driver’s seat.

            Their next lead was to go talk to an old friend of John’s who he had owned a garage together with when they’d still lived in Kansas.  The man wasn’t super helpful and most of the information he had was stuff they already knew, which made sense considering they were investigating something that happened 22 years ago.  He did mention one key detail about John frequently visiting a palm reader in town in the days following Mary’s death and after a little research, and the help of a phone book, they discovered a psychic named Missouri Moseley.

            Now they were sitting on bench in the front room of the woman’s home, waiting for her to get down with a customer so they could find out what she knew.  Missouri turned out to be a short, plump black woman and when she looked at Talia, it made her feel oddly exposed, like the woman was staring straight into her soul.

            Turning from where she’d escorted her customer out, she asked, “Well? Sam, Dean and Talia, come on already, I ain’t got all day.”  Her tone was cheerful and friendly but Talia and the boys exchanged a confused expression, concerned at how this woman knew all their names. 

            Talia was even further unnerved by this woman and she was worried about what other things she might know or could reveal that Talia would prefer to be kept hidden.  Thus, Talia stuck nervously to Dean’s side as they stepped through a doorway with a curtain of beads hanging in it.

            “Well, let me look at ya.” Missouri announced jovially as the three of them stood in front of her.  “Oh, you boys grew up handsome.” She laughed before looking over at Talia who was standing slightly behind Dean, unconsciously clinging to his jacket in her nerves. Pointing at Dean she declared, “And he was one goofy-lookin’ kid, too.”

            Talia could tell without looking that Dean was glaring at her but she felt a smile erupt involuntarily on her face at the joke.  Maybe this woman wasn’t so bad after all.  She certainly seemed nice enough and Talia felt a little more at ease given her easygoing and somewhat motherly nature.

            “You’re still hiding behind him, I see.” Missouri observed although there was no accusation in her tone. “Come out here so I can see you better.” Talia stepped forward reluctantly as she was dragged up in front of the older woman who reached out her hands to clasp one of Talia’s. 

            Talia saw the woman’s eyes widen as she froze for a second in shock, staring off as if looking at something far in the distance.  Talia was just about to ask her if she was okay when Missouri’s gaze focused back in on her face and she commented, “My, my, you sure put these two boys to shame. You’ve grown into quite the beautiful young woman, you look just like your mom.”

            Talia gasped sharply at the mention of her mother but before she could ask anything, Missouri had moved on and was now looking over Sam more closely.  “Oh, honey…I’m sorry about your girlfriend.” The trio stared at her in shock. “And your father…he’s missing?”

            “How’d you know all that?” Sam asked incredulously.

            Missouri replied matter-of-factly, “Well, you were thinking it just now.”

            “Well, where is he?” Dean asked desperately, “Is he okay?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “Don’t know?” Dean’s irritation was obvious. “Well, you’re supposed to be a psychic, right?”

            Missouri glared at him in annoyance. “Boy, you see me sawing some bony tramp in half? You think I’m a magician?” She scoffed. “I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can’t just pull facts out of thin air.”

            Dean seemed stunned at her mini rant and stood there with shock on his face while Sam grinned in amusement.  Talia shared Sam’s amusement and slapped her hand onto Dean’s back with a chuckle as she dragged his frozen form to sit down with her on the couch after Missouri invited them to sit down.

            “Boy,” Missouri chided, “you put your foot on my coffee table and I’m gonna whack you with a spoon!”

            “I didn’t do anything” He protested.

            “But you were thinking about it.” She replied knowingly and Dean rose his eyebrows in shock and Talia couldn’t contain her laugh this time and she exchanged a glance of amusement with Sam who appeared to have decided that Missouri was his new favorite person.

            Dean still looked properly chagrined and Talia nudged him with her shoulder in a silent hint for him to relax and he glanced over at her and upon seeing the humor in her face he seemed to deflate a bit.

            “Okay.” Talia declared, getting back to business, “So, when did you first meet John?”

            “He came for a reading.  A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark.  I guess you could say…I drew back the curtains for him.”

            Dean leaned forward eagerly. “What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?”

            “A little.” Missouri replied reluctantly before explaining, “Your daddy took me to your house.  He was hoping I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing.”

            “And could you?” Sam’s voice was just as hopeful as his brothers’.

            “I…” She trailed off and shook her head.

            “What was it?” Talia asked eagerly.

            Missouri replied softly, “I don’t know. Oh, but it was evil.” She refused to say more on the subject and the trio then explained the mysterious signs that had been happening in the old Winchester home and when they finished their tale, the woman looked concerned.

            “So…you think something is back in that house?”

            Missouri’s question was mainly rhetorical but Sam answered anyway. “Definitely.”

            “I don’t understand.” She pondered and then explained at their looks of confusion, “I haven’t been back inside, but I’ve been keeping an eye on the place, and it’s been quiet.  No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it acting up now?”

            For a moment, Talia wondered if this had anything to do with the man in the trench coat from her dream but she quickly shook off the idea.  The man had just been a figment of her imagination, a new kind of nightmare that was trying to pester her during the day as well but she refused to allow thoughts of him intrude upon her now.

            “I don’t know.” Sam answered Missouri once more. “But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house, all happening at once…it just feels like something’s starting.”

            “That’s a comforting thought.” Dean snarked from Talia’s other side and she couldn’t help but agree with him.

            The four of them soon decided that the best move would be to take Missouri back to the house and see if she could sense whatever was causing the problems.  A frazzled-looking Jenny had answered the door but she’d allowed them to enter her home once more and they’d gathered in the room that used to be Sam’s nursery.  Missouri explained how the evil that had entered the home, and specifically this room, had left a mark which had attracted a poltergeist into the home.

            The evil spirit was intent on attacking Jenny and her children but Missouri was positive that it wasn’t the same entity that had killed Sam and Dean’s mom.  She also declared that she could faintly feel a second spirit in the house as well although she couldn’t quite make it out and then she announced she had gotten all the information she could from the home.  The group then returned to her house to regroup and discuss how to get rid of the spirits haunting the home.

            They were putting together an assortment of dried powders into bags that Missouri had laid out when Dean inquired, “What are supposed to do with these?”

            “We’re gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east, west corners on each floor of the house.” Missouri explained.

            “We’ll be punching holes in the dry wall.” Talia observed dryly. “I’m sure Jenny’s going to love that.”

            “She’ll live.” Missouri replied slyly.

            “And this’ll destroy the spirits?” Sam asked.

            “It should. It should purify the house completely.  We’ll each take a floor. But we work fast. Once the spirits realize what we’re up to, things are gonna get bad.”

            Talia was nodding along absentmindedly in agreement until Missouri’s words processed completely in her head.  She started doing the math in her head, if there were four of them and only three floors of the house then there was no reason for Missouri to go with them and put herself in danger. But if that was true, then why was she gathering her things like she meant to come with them?

            Just as Talia opened her mouth to voice her thoughts aloud, Missouri stood up noisily from her chair. “Alright, you boys take these bags out to your car.  Talia and I will be right out in a second.”

            Sam stood up without a word but Dean hesitated and sent a questioning glance at Talia who was confused as to what Missouri could want to talk to her about but she nodded her head anyways to tell him she would be fine.

            After they left, Talia turned with a look of confusion.  “What did you want?”

            Missouri stood with her hands on her hips. “Girl, how long are you going to keep lying to that boy, and yourself?”

            “Wha-what? What are you talking about?”

            Missouri glared at her as if she wasn’t going to tolerate any of her crap. “You’re gonna sit there and pretend like you haven’t been having any weird dreams lately. I know you were thinking about it. Why haven’t you told them about it?

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Talia protested weakly. “Everyone’s dreams are weird and mine aren’t any different. I’m not special like Sam is, I’m just plain old, normal me.”

            “You and I both know that’s a load of crap.” Missouri’s tone softened as she continued. “Now, I’m not sure what exactly is going on with you but I have this feeling that you need to confront whatever is drawing you to your own house and the dream isn’t going to stop until you do.”

            Talia wanted to argue again but she’d been feeling that weird pulling sensation again and it had been tugging her towards her home since the moment they got into town.  She’d been doing her best to ignore it and refusing to acknowledge its existence but Missouri’s words rang true in her mind and something told her the woman wasn’t wrong; this wasn’t something she could ignore any longer.

            “Maybe you’re right,” Talia admitted softly, “but whatever it is can wait until we help Dean and Sam clear out the spirits in their home.  Then afterwards we can go to my house.”

            Missouri was shaking her head. “No, no, this is something they are going to face on their own, as a family.  And the same goes for you too. You each have your own pasts to confront and that is a journey for each person to take alone.”

            “How do you know that?” Talia questioned doubtfully.

            “Let’s just say I have a strong feeling in my gut. Now let’s get outside before those two boys get themselves into trouble without us.”

            Something told Talia that Missouri’s instincts weren’t often wrong but she still hesitated to follow Missouri outside. She wasn’t sure she was comfortable facing the man from her dreams all by herself and it would be safer with the boys by her side.  Not only that, but she wanted to be there to help them with their own case and she knew it wasn’t as easy for them as they were pretending to be back in their hometown.

            As if she could read her thoughts, which, Talia conceded, she probably had, Missouri laid a comforting hand on her shoulder as she led Talia out the front door. “Don’t you worry about a thing girly, I’ll keep an eye on the pair of them. Everything will work out. He’ll be fine.”

            Still doubtful, but feeling slightly reassured by Missouri’s kind words, Talia finely let herself be led to where the Winchesters were waiting for them by the Impala.  It wasn’t until she’d sat down in the backseat of the car that Missouri’s final words truly processed in her head and Talia was sure she’d meant to say _they’ll be fine_.  Nervous anticipation wiped all other thoughts from her head as they approached the place where both her and the Winchester’s old homes stood, waiting for them.

 


	28. Chapter 28

            “You coming?” Dean called out to Talia who was standing just next to the Impala staring out at her childhood home and struggling with an internal confliction.  Everything within her was pushing her to go into the home but her mind wanted to pretend that this was all a dream and go back to when she didn’t have strange dreams of odd men summoning her. However, she knew that she could no longer pretend what was happening to her was a figment of her imagination.

            “No.” She finally answered in a hoarse whisper before clearing her throat and echoing in a stronger voice. “No. I’m not coming. I want to explore my house while you take care of this.”

            “You’re not going to help us?” Sam’s voice was incredulous and rightly so; normally she fought tooth and nail to be a part of every hunt and her willingness to leave them was extremely out of character.

            “I want to look at the place where-” emotion clogged her voice, “where my mom died.”

            “You sure you want to do that alone?” Dean inquired doubtfully.

            “No,” Talia glanced over at Missouri who nodded slightly in confirmation before she continued, “but I think this is something I need to do on my own.” Sam and Dean seemed to accept this explanation readily and Talia tried not to feel bereft at how willing they were to leave her. After all, this was what she wanted. 

            She delayed as long as possible as she watched Sam and Dean walk across the street towards their home and it wasn’t until they knocked on the door that she finally faced her own house again.  The building was empty, but well-kept, with a ‘For Sale’ sign hanging in the front lawn. It looked exactly as it had in her dream and when she glanced at the second story window she half expected to see a familiar set of blue eyes peering out at her but the glass revealed nothing.

            After picking the lock on the front door, Talia slipped silently inside and closed the door, leaving herself in semi-darkness that was broken by the soft daylight piercing through the window blinds.  She expected to feel something, nostalgia or sadness, as she looked around but she felt nothing as she looked around at the furniture that artfully decorated the living room.

            For the first time, she understood Sam’s detachment from his home.  There was nothing here that held any meaning for her; she had been far too young.  Any personal belongings from her family were long gone and she didn’t have any memories of this place, to her it was just another empty house and it was easier than she thought to continue walking forward.

            The pulling sensation told her where to go and lead her forward up the stairs and down the hallway on the second floor until she was confronted with a closed door that she knew, without knowing how she did, was her old room.  Channeling her strength, she gripped the handle tightly and took a deep breath before ripping it open swiftly, prepared to face whatever stood on the other side of the wooden panels.

            For a moment, she was staring at the man from her dreams, dressed exactly as she remembered, askew blue tie and all, but then his form flickered into something that was anything but human.  In her mind’s eye, she saw blinding white light and a towering form that was so glorious and magnificent that she couldn’t find the words to describe it. As she continued to stare awestruck at him, her eyes began to water and feel slightly uncomfortable so she tore her gaze away, feeling that if she stared any longer her eyes might burn out.

            “What the hell was that? What are you?”

            “I believe that was you witnessing my true form. I was unsure whether you would be able to do that but it appears you are stronger than we thought.” The man’s answer only left Talia with even more questions.

            “We? Whose we?” She demanded bluntly. “Why did you call me here? What do you want?”

            “I am here to take you with me. To fulfill the destiny you were given at birth.” He declared simply.

            “My destiny? What the hell are you talking about?” Talia crossed her arms and declared stubbornly, “You better answer my questions before you presume to take me anywhere.”

            “Fine.” His tone was flat although Talia could sense his frustration. “We refers to me and my brothers and as to what we are, that is not something you need to know at this moment. What you need to know is that you were chosen from birth to be gifted with great powers so you could be a weapon against a great evil.  You will learn more when you begin your training”

            Talia stared at him in shock, sure her jaw must have smacked against the floor in her disbelief.  He couldn’t be serious, there was no way that she, an average human and a terrible hunter, had any special abilities or powers.

            “Your powers are still beginning to develop but I came here to take you with me so you could be safe and we can begin your training. You have a lot to learn.”

            That last part stung a bit, not that she’d admit it. She’d always felt inadequate next to Sam and Dean, who were incredible hunters but hearing it put so bluntly was a huge hit to her pride.

            “And you expect me to just come with you? Just like that?”

            The man tilted his head to the side in confusion, as if the thought of her resisting hadn’t occurred to him. “Yes. It is your destiny, what you were born for. You must come with me if you are to be ready to face the forces of evil arrayed against you.”

            Talia snorted, “Yeah, well that’s not happening. I’m not letting some stranger drag me away from my family on some crazy ass adventure. No thank you.”

            “Your family?” There was a note of derision in his voice, “You call the Winchesters your family but do you think they would say the same? That they truly care for you? One of them can’t even bear to be in a room with you.”

            “Sam and Dean may not be perfect,” Talia argued crossly, feeling her anger rise, “but they’ve always been there for me.  They need me, especially now.”

            “Do they?” He asked simply and before Talia could respond he lifted two fingers and pressed them to her forehead.  There was a flash of blue light and suddenly, Talia was no longer standing in her childhood home.

            She was standing in a church and it took her a moment to recognize herself, standing protectively in front of Lorenzo as the Hook Man loomed in front of them.  She watched herself get stabbed in the shoulder and then knocked around by the Hook Man until Dean came to the rescue.  Just as he fired the shot that would dissipate the Hook Man, there was another flash of light and the scene changed.

            Now she was watching as she was tied to a chair and the shapeshifter tortured her until Sam and Dean broke in and saved her. Flash. She was collapsing on her knees, crying out in pain as blood streamed from her eyes. Dean swung out with a crowbar shattering the mirror in front of her. Flash. Sam and Dean were racing through a mineshaft and then turned a corner to find Talia and another girl tied up and hanging from the ceiling.

            “It appears that _you_ are the one who needs them.”

            Talia turned her eyes from the scene and saw the man had followed her and she realized he must have somehow taken her through her own memories.  She felt her eyes burn with tears of anger and embarrassment at how often she’d needed to be saved but she refused to let him see how much it hurt. “All this proves is that I’m a shitty hunter; not news to me by the way. Now, take me back.”

            “Fine. Maybe this will change your mind.”

            There was another, now familiar, flash of light as the scene disappeared and they appeared outside an abandoned warehouse on a night that was achingly familiar to Talia.  She immediately took a step backwards and pleaded:

            “No, please. Not this one. I don’t want to watch this memory.” She didn’t receive a reply and she was forced to watch as the familiar rumble sounded and the Impala pulled up, with John Winchester in the driver’s seat.  A younger version of her and Dean stepped out of the car with him and followed him towards the seemingly abandoned building.

            She remembered the hunt well, John had tracked a pack of vampires back to their nest and Talia had begged to come along when he and Dean went to clear it out.  She had not only wanted to participate in the hunt but Dean had been in an especially foul mood, with tomorrow being the anniversary of then Sam had left for college.  She was worried he would be too distracted and she didn’t want to leave his side.

* * *

_John entered the building and told Dean and Talia to wait outside and keep watch, there was only a few vampires inside so it should have been an easy job.  Talia watched her past-self observe Dean with concern before she began making poor attempts at cheering him up that were almost laughable.  However, a moment later, she made a joke that was so stupid that they both broke out helplessly into laughter that bounced loudly off the nearby buildings._

_There laughter was cut short but the rumble of an engine as a car full of vampires pulled up to the building and the two of them froze in the shadows where they were standing.  Dean quickly got over the shock of seeing far more vampires then they had known about and pushed Talia towards a pile of boxes where they could hide as the vampires approached the warehouse._

_In her rush to hide, Talia stumbled slightly and she grabbed desperately at a ventilation pipe along the side of the building to catch herself and in the process, a flake of metal sliced across her palm leaving a shallow but long cut that immediately beaded with blood.  She didn’t make a single hiss of pain but immediately the sound of footsteps halted and all five vampires from the car turned in their direction._

_“I smell blood…sweet blood.” A female’s voice called out._

_Talia and Dean were trapped with the boxes at their back and they had no choice but to ready their weapons, each of them wielding a large blade, ideal for decapitating the bloodsuckers. Just as Talia was readying herself for the fight of her life, Dean grabbed her bleeding palm with his own hand and squeezed it firmly smearing her blood over his own hand before pulling her deeper into the shadows._

_“Listen, you stay here. They don’t know there’s two of us, I’ll draw them away and when the coast is clear you get my dad. He’ll save us.”_

_Without another word, Dean leapt up and stalked into the light calling out mockingly to the creatures to come get a taste.  Talia could just see what was going on from a tiny gap between two boxes and she saw one cocky vampire step towards Dean with a laugh and a fanged grin.  His overconfidence resulted in a quick death as Dean swung his blade without hesitation and neatly beheaded the monster before it could lay a finger on him._

_“Chris!” A female vampire cried out in pain before she snarled at Dean and stalked towards him while the other three circled around him until he was surrounded by four growling monsters that were much more cautious then the first one had been.  Dean took a challenging step forward with a smirk that moved him out of Talia’s view and she could only listen to the sounds of the fight, with fear pumping through her veins._

_She waited as long as she possibly could before she slipped out to try and find John within the building so he could come save them.  Just as she was about to move around the corner of the building to safety, she heard Dean cry out in pain and on instinct she swirled around to the noise._

_He had been knocked to the ground and the woman that had cried out earlier was kneeling above him with a dagger in her hand, raised up and about to strike down.  Apparently, she was too upset to waste time draining him of blood._

_“No! Dean!” Talia screamed out and her voice startled the vampire enough to cause her to miss her first target of Dean’s heart and instead the blade lodged itself in his shoulder instead.  Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of the vampires to her as well but they simply laughed at the skinny girl clutching a blade in one hand with tears running down her face._

_“We’ll deal with you in a second, girl.” One of them called as they turned back to focus on Dean, not at all concerned that she posed a threat.  They were right of course, there was no way she could take on all of them at once but by the time she found John inside the building, Dean would be dead._

_Thinking quick on her feet, Talia did the only thing she could think of and she backed up a couple of steps and drew the blade in her hand across the flesh of her inner elbow.  Her hands were so shaky that she cut deeper than she intended and a steady stream of blood poured down her arm._

_Immediately, all four vampires froze and their heads turned to focus on her with hungry gazes, there fangs lowered and nostrils flaring at the scent of her blood.  Talia wasn’t sure what made her blood so especially appealing to them but now wasn’t the time to question it.  All she needed to focus on was drawing their attention away from Dean._

_“You like the smell of that? Well, come and get some.” She called out tauntingly, taking slow careful steps away from Dean to entice them as far away as possible.  The vampires were all completely focused on her now, or more importantly, the trail of blood that was leaking down her arm and dripping onto the ground.  She stumbled slightly on some obstacle behind her and that seemed to trigger the vampires who broke free from their slow stalking forward movement and pounced on her._

_She screamed as she felt many different fangs sink deep into her skin but she made sure to count that there were four separate sets and that she had in fact distracted them all.  It didn’t occur to her to be worried for what would happen to her until she lay there being drained of every ounce of blood while vampires piled over her and moaned in pleasure at the sweet taste of her life source._

_The more blood she lost, the less it hurt until she became numb to it all and a fog settled on her brain.  All her sense dulled and darkness edged in until she could focus only on the four points of pain of her body and she absently wondered if Dean had managed to get away.  Not that it would matter much to her anymore, she could feel the darkness shrouding closer and she knew she didn’t have much longer left._

_Suddenly, just as she was prepared to accept the soothing embrace of the abyss, the crushing weight of the vampires was ripped from her body and her weakened body gasped for air. Without the support of the vampire who had been holding her head to drink from her neck, her head lolled to the side. Through blurry vision she made out Dean facing off with two of the vampires.  The other two were already dead and lay close to Talia, with their heads nearby, they’d been so enraptured by their feast that they hadn’t noticed Dean until they were dead._

_It took the rolling heads of their friends to even alert the remaining two of the problem.  Now Dean faced off against them, appearing to Talia’s hazy mind to be an avenging angel with fury alight in his eyes that were blazing green orbs in the dim light of her receding vision._

_She clung on to consciousness long enough to see him win the fight and once she was assured that he would be safe after all, stab wound in the shoulder aside, she finally allowed her eyes to close, holding on to sight of the same green eyes facing her with concern as the last thing she would ever see._

 

* * *

 

            Talia looked away from the sight of her younger self, passed out and covered in her own blood. She knew what happened next, she had awoken in a hospital bed alone and confused and John had come in to tell her he had gotten her a house in a nearby town where she could live and finish high school.  He’d told her that she had almost died and that she would be safer living a life outside of hunting.

            She’d been so surprised that she hadn’t even been able to protest and he continued to speak, giving several more reasons for his decision but she was numb to his words, shock filtering out everything except for the word, ‘leaving’. After John left, she’d waited patiently for Dean to visit her so she could ask him what the hell was going on but she hadn’t see him or John once in the week she’d had to stay in the hospital.

            At first, she’d been angry but then she’d cried herself to sleep, wondering if they’d left her already and if she was now on her own for the first time of her life. However, John came to sign her out of the hospital but his stern face brooked no questions so she’d sat silently in the back of the Impala as they drove away and angrily refused to meet Dean’s gaze as he looked imploringly back at her from the front seat.

            Everything inside her, every fiber in her being had wanted to scream aloud and protest this and she had come close to doing so several times on the journey but she’d known better. Her actual father or not, John was the leader of the family and what he said was law, it was not her place to question his decisions or his judgement. So instead, she’d done as she’d seen Dean do her entire life and shut up and done as she was told.

 

* * *

 

_Standing on the doorstep of the small home, Talia wished she could channel the same numbness she’d felt as she was lying on the ground in front of the abandoned warehouse as her blood drained from her. Anything would be better than the aching, soul-tearing pain that radiated from her heart and consumed her whole body._

_She refused to cry in front of John, or Dean, and she simply stood stiffly as they dropped her bags on the ground and John gave her a slap on the back and a quick goodbye before he walked back to the car. She didn’t expect anything more emotional from him so she wasn’t surprised by his idea of a goodbye. She was holding onto her anger at him for deciding to leave her here after raising her for nearly as long as she’d been with her own father and then taking away the only family she had left. This anger was the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely right there._

_She wanted to be mad at Dean too, as he stood their awkwardly in front of her, for not arguing against his dad, for not coming to see her in the hospital, for not letting this all happen but she couldn’t get angry at him.  It wasn’t his fault this was happening and he hadn’t tried to argue for the same reason she hadn’t said a word since she’d woken up in the hospital; there was nothing either of them could do to change John’s mind.  They were both doing what they’d always done, following John’s orders and doing as they were told._

_“It’s better this way. You’ll be safe.” Dean told her but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything.  There was an awkward pause and he opened his mouth as if to say something else but seemed to change his mind and simply pulled Talia into a hug. Talia’s control slipped slightly as she clung onto him, her arms holding him desperately as if she could keep him from leaving by trapping him in her embrace._

_More was said between them in that hug than could ever be done with words and she knew it was Dean’s way of saying how much he’d miss her. He was never one with words.  After what seemed like all too short a time, he pulled away and walked over to where John was waiting by the Impala. Dean turned one last time to look at her and she tried to smile at him to say that she would be alright but it probably looked far sadder than she intended._

_She held it together just long enough to watch them turn the corner at the end of the street and then she turned silently and dragged her bags through the front door. She dropped them just inside the hallway and then turned to close the door behind her._

_It shut with a haunting finality and the click of the lock sliding into place seemed to echo through the emptiness of the room and through her skin, into her bones until it rebounded through her empty heart. With a sob, she turned and collapsed to the floor with her back against the door. And there, in the silence, in the emptiness of a strange place that felt nothing like home, away from every person she loved, she was all alone and she let herself fall apart. As the glue that had held her heart together for years drove farther and farther away, her heart shattered once more._

* * *

 

            “Stop! Please, no more!” Talia shouted, tears streaming down her face as she watched her younger self break down. She covered her eyes and tried to block out the image as well as the memory of that day.

            “You seem distressed.” He commented in a monotone.

            In shock, she turned to stare at him to see genuine confusion on his face. “Yeah, no shit Sherlock.” She quipped dryly, her surprise at his reaction helping her to calm down after reliving that horrid memory.

            “My name is Castiel,” The man corrected in bewilderment, “Not Sherlock.” Talia couldn’t help but burst out laughing not only at his failure to get the reference but also at the fact that she’d only just now realized that she had never bothered to ask his name. 

            Castiel seemed further puzzled by her switch from tears to laughter but seemed to decide not to comment on it. “If you are in better spirits, perhaps now you are ready to come with me?”

            “Dude, you are really committed to being polite.”

            “My orders were to convince you to accompany me by whatever means necessary but that I was not to harm you in anyway.”

            “Well, you can tell your superiors to shove their orders where the sun don’t shine cause the only way you’re getting me to leave with you is to kidnap me and you can bet I’ll put up a hell of a fight.” Talia declared vehemently.

            “You are really intent on remaining with the Winchesters, despite everything I’ve showed you?” Castiel asked in a tone of pure curiosity that once again made her feel like he was utterly confused by her.

            Talia pondered the question for a moment before she formulated a proper response. “You showed me a lot of bad memories, but you only focused on the bad ones and I know there’s also a lot of good times too. And I chose to focus on those.” 

            She could see that he still didn’t fully understand and following an instinct she didn’t quite understand, she stepped forward and placed her two fingers on his forehead just as he’d done earlier to her.  Feeling the warm light insider her flare up, she realized this must be the power Castiel had been talking about and she let a small thread of it channel up her arm and into her fingers as she focused on finding a good memory to show him, a happy one.


	29. Chapter 29

_Talia had never thought much about her last name but as she sat, shifting uncomfortably in the plastic folding chair in the front row of her class, she realized there was a huge problem with having a last name that started with the beginning letter of the alphabet._

_It meant that when sitting in alphabetical order, she was in the very front row, visible by everyone in the entire crowd. She couldn’t safely hide among the crowd of her peers sitting around her like the lucky kids with last names that started with H or L. No, instead she could only peer helplessly at the large crowd of people gathered in the stadium seats at her high school._

_There were hundreds of family members gathered to celebrate this rite of passage and to congratulate their children on surviving twelve years of education.  As Talia scanned the many faces in the crowd, seeing some people holding signs, she felt a pang in her chest as she once again reminded herself that there would be no one out there in the crowd for her._

_No one waiting to cheer her name as it was called and she walked across the stage to be handed her diploma.  Her only greeting would be a stark and embarrassing silence that might be broken by a few pitying claps as she trekked across the stage.  Everyone noting the absence of sound that was a blaring testament to the fact that she had no family, that there was no one here to support her._

_Although she hadn’t had any expectations, she’d sent graduation announcements to both Sam and Dean, she’d even sent John one as well, hoping that at least one of them would show up. Sam had called a few weeks ago, apologizing profusely and saying he wasn’t going to be able to make it down.  She hadn’t even received a response from Dean or John._

_She’d tried to convince herself this morning that it didn’t matter, it was just a stupid high school graduation, one she hardly wanted to attend in the first place and that she shouldn’t be hurt that none of the Winchesters could be bothered to attend.  Yet no matter how hard she tried to tell herself otherwise, it still hurt.  It was just another reminder of why she didn’t belong here._

_She took some comfort in the fact that because she was one of the first names alphabetically, she could get the embarrassment over quickly and then return to her seat to wait out the rest of the ceremony.  She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited in line behind some of her peers, listening with disinterest as the principal began calling out names and students began to walk across the stage._

_The closer she got to the front of the line, the more nervous she became until, as the person in front of her stalked confidently across the stage, she found herself holding her breath and biting her lip while her whole body tensed._

_“Talia Andrews.”_

_Curling her hands tightly at her sides, she started stiffly forwards, trying to focus only on the teacher waiting on the other side, ready to hand her the diploma and shake her hand.  There was a moment where that awkward silence reined deafeningly, just as she expected. And then, to her complete and utter surprise, one solitary voice broke out into loud cheers, clapping and calling her name as if she’d just won a Nobel Prize._

_Turning to face the crowd in shock, not believing her own ears, Talia scanned the crowd to find the source of the noise.  Sure enough, standing at the very back and looking as if he’d just run marathon, but still there, was Dean Winchester, cheering her on as she walked._

_She erupted into a grin so wide it threatened to split her face in two as she waved at him excitedly.  She couldn’t believe he’d actually come. A laugh of pure joy and surprise left her mouth as she finished her stroll across the stage with a bounce in her step.  She absently shook hands with the teacher as he handed her the diploma that represented the last couple years of hard work._

_The rest of the ceremony held no meaning for her and so as she was walking back to her seat, she slipped off to the side and darted out a nearby door. She ran through the old maintenance hallways of the school gym and as she sprinted around the corner she ran straight into someone’s chest and arms reached out to catch her:_

_“Woah, where’s the fire?”_

_A familiar chuckle reached her ears and she looked up to see Dean’s laughing face smiling down at her. “Dean!” She hugged him, still slightly in disbelief that he was standing in front of her. “I can’t believe you came.”_

_“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Dean replied as he returned the hug._

_“Thank you.” Talia declared gratefully.  She pulled away from him and noticed the slightest wince on his face as he straightened up. “What’s wrong?”_

_“Nothing.” Dean dismissed quickly. “I’m fine.”_

_Talia pushed him slightly away from her so she could examine him closer and she noticed a few worrying signs. His face was slightly pale, and he was sweating far too much for the air-conditioned building.  She then noticed he had his jacket fully zipped up and she reached to unzip it, swatting away his attempts to stop her. As she pulled it open, she let out a gasp of surprise, across his stomach, there was a dark red, fresh blood stain soaking his shirt._

_“It’s just a scratch.” He protested weakly and when she glared up at him, he explained desperately, “I was on a hunt that lasted longer than expected and I had to drive straight here to make it in time.”_

_Talia rolled her eyes, she couldn’t get mad at him for rushing to get here in time and he knew it. Plus, if Dean was still standing and walking around the wound couldn’t be that bad, it didn’t mean she was willing to stand around and chat and see how long it took for him to pass out._

_“Alright buddy, you’re driving me home so I can look at that.” She informed him and practically dragged him towards the parking lot._

_“Jesus, graduate from high school once and you think you own the world.” Dean mumbled but any bite to his words was softened by him throwing his arm around her shoulders as they walked. “By the way, what’s this I hear about you being a valedictorian? You better not go and nerd out on me now. There’s only room for one in the family.”_

_Talia laughed and shoved him playfully, “Heaven forbid! Then some of my ‘nerd’ could rub off on you and the world might implode.”_

_He made a show of stepping away from her and brushing his hands off. “Oh god, you’re right! I need to wash my hands.”_

_“It’s too late for that, the virus has gone airborne.” Talia laughed maniacally while Dean adopted an expression of horror. They continued to joke back and forth in an easy manner that was as familiar to Talia as breathing.  Just as they were about to get into the Impala, Dean seemed to stare out at her, still dressed in her cap and gown and he told her:_

_“Nerd or not, I’m proud of you.”_

_Talia smiled back at him, beaming with pride at his praise and she sat in the car feeling like she was on cloud nine. The entire way back to her house, they rolled the windows down and blared music from the speakers, singing along at the top of their lungs and laughing when one of them was off-key._

_Riding with Dean in the Impala, the sun on her face, the wind whipping her hair back and forth, and classic rock blaring in her ears, Talia felt that this right here was her home._

* * *

 

            Talia wasn’t sure how it worked, but as soon as the memory was done playing, she found herself once more standing in her old bedroom next to Castiel.  She stared at her own hands in fascination as she lowered her fingers from his forehead.  She couldn’t believe she’d just done that or how easily and simple it had seemed. She finally looked over at Castiel, curious to see his reaction to what she’d just showed him.

            He was staring at her again like she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out and she was beginning to wonder if that was his default expression.

            “You are…more complex than I anticipated.” He declared.

            “Um…” Talia wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Thanks?”

            “Forgive me, the many facets of human emotions are lost to me but I think I’m starting to understand why you want to stay with the Winchesters.” He paused for a moment to ponder her again before he continued. “If you aren’t coming with me, it is time for me to leave.”

            “Will I see you again?” Talia felt oddly bereft, something inside of her felt a connection to this odd man, or whatever he was, and she found herself feeling sad at the thought of never seeing him again.

            “If all goes well, no. But if you ever change your mind and want to learn what I can teach you than all you need to do is call for me and I will hear you.”

            With that he disappeared in a blink but just before he left, Talia caught a glimpse of large black wings, stretched out behind him and she caught the sound of rustling feathers.  A sudden realization hit her as she put together several different facts and odd things Castiel had said but the idea seemed preposterous.  There was no way she’d just had a conversation with an actual _angel_. She snorted at the ridiculous thought, like an angel would need her.

            Talia was blinded by the blazing sunlight once she exited the house and she was surprised to see that it was morning. It hadn’t felt like she’d been inside for that long but she’d been visiting so many memories it made sense that her idea of the passage of time was all wacky. Shielding her face from the light, she waited for her eyes to adjust before she noticed the Impala still parked across the street.

            Dean was sitting against the Impala in staring thoughtfully at a picture in his hands while Sam and Missouri were sitting on the front steps of the Winchester home, discussing something that looked important although Talia couldn’t hear anything from there.  She took a deep breath before approaching Dean, having decided it was time to come clean to him about what had been happening, and needing to share with him her strange conversation. She wanted, no needed to talk to someone about what she’d just experienced.

            However, when she approached Dean, he barely acknowledged her presence with a brief hello and then went back to shuffling through the stack of photos which she could now see were old family photos of the entire Winchester family.  He didn’t ask where she’d been or question what she’d been doing all this time and she could immediately tell something was wrong. Dean had that look on his face.

            Shoving aside her own issues, she sat down beside him, leaning her head down onto his shoulder, suddenly feeling exhausted from the emotional upheaval she’d experience during her talk with Castiel.  She watched him stare at the pictures a little longer, tracing his finger softly over the smiling face of Mary in one of the photos.  She waited a few moments, content to wait until he was ready to talk but when he continued to remain silent she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong.

            “She was there, my mom.” Dean interrupted her softly.

            “What?” Talia was flabbergasted and lifted her head to stare at him in shock.

            He didn’t meet her gaze. “The second spirit, it was her.  I think she sacrificed herself to save me and Sam.” 

He went to explain what had happened since she’d separated from them, how they’d warded the house but Sam had demanded they stick around to watch the house to make sure the spirits were truly gone.  Dean then told her how the spirit had returned and they’d been able to get Jenny and her kids out of the house to safety but Sam had been trapped inside by the poltergeist.  When Dean had broken back in to save him, he said Mary had appeared, and then ordered the spirit away, disappearing once more in a burst of flames, taking the poltergeist with here. 

Talia didn’t know how to respond to this story and she sat in silent shock, trying to process everything that Dean had told her.  She wasn’t sure what to say to someone who’d just seen his dead mother again only to have her gone a moment later.  She wasn’t sure there was anything she could really say that would help so she just rested her head on his shoulder once more and sat in silence.

She felt exhausted from staying up all night although her own night seemed a lot less exciting in comparison to what had happened just across the street.  She wasn’t sure how long she had nodded off before Dean gently shook her awake and she saw Sam and Missouri walking towards them.  She stood up with a yawn, cracking her neck with a pop and then turned to say goodbye to Missouri.

“Stay safe, girlie. And you remember what I said about telling that boy the truth.” Missouri whispered in her ear as they hugged before she released Talia and the knowing smile on her face made Talia think she was referring to more than just her experience during the night before.

Talia smiled in response and then turned to follow the Winchesters into the Impala.  She turned to watch her house get smaller behind them until the turned the corner and it was a somber car ride as the three of them were lost in their own thoughts but she knew no matter what happened that the Winchesters were her family and she knew she made the right decision. You didn’t abandon your family.


	30. Chapter 30

            The fierce ringing of Dean’s phone was grating on Talia’s ears and she watched impatiently as he searched through his duffle bag looking for it.  She finally grew tired of the noise and got up to shove him gently aside as she reached for it, buried under a pile of his clothes where she’d seen him put it down earlier.  She handed the noisy device to him with a roll of her eyes and he quickly cut off the ringer, finally silencing the annoying sound.

            Talia was extremely sleep deprived lately after her visit from Castiel and the trip down memory lane had done nothing good for her nightmares.  Sam and Dean had just been arguing about the search for John again and the increasing number of disagreements were continuing to annoy her.  Sam’s temper was rather short as of late and it had her stepping on eggshells around him to avoid setting him off.  At least Dean wasn’t mad at her and she’d been talking with him even more as Sam continued to be mad at her for who knows what reasons why.

            “Huh. I don’t believe it.” Dean announced upon reading his phone, sitting down next to Talia and staring at it in disbelief.

            “What?” Talia inquired curiously peering over his shoulder to read the phone.

            “It’s a text message. It’s coordinates.” Dean announced to Sam.

            Reading the coordinates from his phone, Talia walked over to Sam’s laptop which was open on the table and plugged them in, paying no attention to the argument that Sam and Dean broke out into again.  Dean was convinced it was from John and was happy at the sign that he was still alive while Sam was skeptical, stating correctly that John didn’t know how to work technology well.

            “Well, where do the coordinates even point?” Sam finally asked, turning to Talia.

            “That’s an interesting question.” She replied, “Rockford, Illinois.”

            “Okay, and that’s interesting how?” Dean wondered.

            Talia explained, “I checked the local Rockford paper and look at this.” She turned the screen so both brothers could see the article she’d discovered while telling them, “A cop named Walter Kelly came home from his shift, shot his wife, and then put the gun in his mouth, blew his brains out.  And earlier that same night, Kelly and his partner had responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum.”

            Dean was nodding along with her words, obviously getting what she was hinting at while Sam just looked at them confused and admitted, “Okay, I’m not following. What does this have to do with us?”

            Talia pointed to Dean, indicating he should explain, and he grabbed John’s journal as he told Sam, “Dad earmarked the same asylum in the journal. Let’s see….” He turned pages until he found the right one and pointed out a specific page, “Here. Seven unconfirmed sightings, two deaths – until last week at least.”

            Talia nodded at his words, she’d seen the entry when Dean had been reading it and she told Sam, who still looked confused, “We think this is where he wants us to go.”

            Sam snorted, “This is a job…Dad wants us to work a job.”

            “Well,” Dean argued, “maybe we’ll meet up with him? Maybe he’s there?” There was a note of desperate hope in his voice that Talia was sure Sam didn’t catch.

            “Maybe he’s not?” Sam fired back, and Talia nearly sighed in exasperation as she watched them begin to argue once again. “I mean, he could be sending us there, by ourselves, to hunt this thing.”

            “Who cares!” Dean yelled, “If he wants us there, it’s good enough for me.”

            “This doesn’t strike you as weird?” Sam’s voice increased in volume to match Dean’s. “The texting? The coordinates?”

            “Enough!” Talia cried out, rubbing her forehead to ward off the approaching headache she could feel from all this yelling and arguing, tired of hearing it all morning. “Sam, if John’s telling us to go somewhere, we’re going. Now will the two of you shut the hell up, for one second please!”

            Talia didn’t stop to take in their reaction to her outburst, she just grabbed her bag, which was already packed, and walked outside to wait in the Impala where she could play some music and hopefully catch up on some sleep during the long drive ahead of them.

 

* * *

 

            Talia took a slow sip of her beer as she watched Dean approach the dead cop’s partner across the bar.  He was posing as a nosy and disrespectful reporter and the plan was for Sam to step in and push him away thereby getting in the cop’s good graces and hopefully getting some information out of him as well.

            Sam walked over right on cue and pulled Dean from his chair roughly, shoving him away and yelling, “Hey buddy, why don’t you leave the poor guy alone! The man’s an officer, why don’t you show a little respect!”

            Talia winced slightly, Sam didn’t look like he’d held back on that push but a moment later Dean walked past her table with a small nod on his way out the door and Talia watched Sam set down across from the cop and hand him a beer.  She couldn’t hear anything that was being said but by the looks of things, Sam had it under control so she got up to wait outside with Dean until he was done.

            She grabbed the two extra beers from the table that she’d gotten earlier in anticipation of the wait and knowing that Dean would have forgotten to take his drink with him when he left.  Walking outside into the evening air, the sound from the bar echoed through the open doorway for a moment as she stared out to see Dean in the familiar pose of sitting on the hood of the Impala.

            She walked over, her feet crunching slightly on the gravel of the parking lot, and when she got closer she called out, “Heads up!” She tossed one of the beers in her hand towards him and he caught it reflexively while she sat down next to him on the hood.

            Dean looked at the drink in his hand in surprise for a moment before he chuckled and declared, “You’re the best.”

            Talia smiled widely, “Figured we’d be in for a bit of a wait and it seems a shame to be in a bar, or outside of one, without a drink in hand.”  Dean clinked his glass against hers in agreement and then took a long pull of his drink, sighing in contentment. Talia took a swig of her own drink before leaning back against the front windshield to stare up at the sky and the twinkling lights of the stars above.

            “So…” Dean began as he leaned back to lay next to her, “You gonna tell me what’s up with you and Sam? And don’t bullshit me, I know something’s up. You’ve been extra quiet lately and he’s been giving you a bitchface for weeks now.”

            “I…I don’t know.” Talia admitted, “It’s like he’s suddenly decided he hates me and I don’t understand what I did wrong.” Talia’s voice slipped a bit at the end revealing just how much Sam’s behavior had been affecting her. Sure, they never got along as well as she did with Dean but he was still family to her and she hated to think that she’d done something to make him dislike her.

            “Dammit, Talia, you should have said something.  I’ll talk with him and set him straight.” Dean declared strongly, a hint of anger in his voice.

            “No, Dean, it’s fine.”

            “It’s not okay, if he’s upsetting you then he either needs to stop or man up and tell you why he’s been treating you like this.”

            “I’ll talk to him then, okay?” Talia acquiesced.

            “Good.”

            After that, they slipped into silence once more but thankfully it wasn’t awkward and they lay side by side, sipping their drinks and gazing up at the stars.  It was peaceful and relaxing, especially after the stressful morning and Talia was glad for the brief respite, knowing it wouldn’t be long before Sam came out of the bar with information on their next lead for this case.

            Sure enough, a few minutes later, Sam emerged victorious from the bar and informed them that that the cop had told him that Walter Kelly was a good man, even-keeled and his marriage was going well.  They all concluded that this likely indicated something else had influenced him into shooting his wife and then killing himself. There next stop was to go check out the asylum.

            As soon as they pulled up, Talia felt all sorts of weird vibes coming from the abandoned building and the place seemed to exude creepiness in waves.  She tried to pretend like the odd feelings she was getting was just fear of entering a creepy old insane asylum that looked like something straight from a horror movie and that it wasn’t her _sensing_ something inside.  She felt slightly reassured by the fact that it was the middle of the day and the sun was shining brightly outside.

            The front doors had a thick metal chain lying on the ground in front of them that appeared to have been cut with bolt cutters from where they’d previously kept anyone from entering the building.  Talia wondered if the cops had done that or if the chain had been cut by rebellious teenagers trying to sneak into the asylum.  If it was the latter, she had to commend them for their dedication to breaking into the place although she also thought anyone would be crazy to willingly enter an abandoned insane asylum.

            Talia realized she’d loitered in the entrance for too long and she hurried to catch up with the brothers.  She trailed behind Sam and Dean who were walking closely, side by side. Dean was holding a EMF reader in his hand and checking it periodically as they moved down the hallway.  “Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel.” Dean called jokingly to Sam.

            “Dude, enough.”

            “I’m serious.” Dean continued unperturbed. “You gotta be careful, all right? Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you got going on.”

            Talia felt like she should speak up to defend Sam and normally she would have scolded Dean, telling him to stop pestering his brother but she wasn’t sure how kindly Sam would take to her butting in to defend him and she’d rather not start another argument.

            “I told you, it’s not ESP!” Sam explained tiredly, “I just have strange vibes sometimes. Weird dreams.”

            “Yeah, whatever.” Dean sounded disinterested but Talia knew he was still weirded out by what Sam had told him about the visions he’d been having and she shuddered to think how he’d react if she ever admitted to having similar experiences. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

            “You get any reading on that thing or not?” Sam asked.

            “Nope.” Dean replied. “Of course, it doesn’t mean no one’s home.”

            “Spirits can’t appear during certain hours of the day.” Talia remembered.

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed with her, “the freaks come out at night. Which makes Sam’s presence right now, a miracle.”

            Talia let out a snort of laughter at that and Sam shoved Dean lightly but the eldest Winchester simply laughed in response.  The three of them continued wandering through the asylum until they came across a room filled with various surgical tables and chairs with straps across them and a variety of painful looking surgical instruments.  None of the items in the room looked particularly fun and Talia pointed out several of them with a grimace while Dean speculated on the what was causing people who entered the place to go insane. 

            Part of Dean’s hypothesizing included him referencing different classic horror movies and each time he would make a crazy face to imitate the killer of the movie and it had Talia laughing in amusement.  She soon realized that this was Dean’s way of taking her mind off the creepy ambiance of the asylum and helping her forget her trepidation and she was grateful for his humor.

            “Dean.” Sam spoke up, interrupting his brother’s antics with an annoyed tone. “When are we going to talk about it?”

            Dean turned around in confusion. “Talk about what?

            “About the fact that Dad’s not here.” Sam said flatly.

            “Uh,” Talia interjected hopefully, wishing they could avoid yet another confrontation between the brothers that was impending, “How about never?”

            Sam glared at her, “I’m being serious.”

            “So was I, Sam.” Talia adopted a more serious tone. “Look, he sent us here, so he obviously wants us here. We can continue searching for him after we’ve dealt with what’s going on here.”

            “It doesn’t matter what he wants.” Sam argued angrily.

            “See.” Dean interjected, pointing at Sam. “That attitude, right there. That is why we always got the extra cookie.”

            Sam didn’t appear to appreciate Dean’s attempt at levity. “Dad could be in trouble, we should be looking for him.  We deserve some answers, Dean. I mean, this is _our_ family we’re talking about.” 

            Talia wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not but she swore that he put extra emphasis on the last part as if reminding her that it wasn’t her place to chime into discussions about Winchester business. It stung, to be reminded that she was just a tagalong to the Winchester family problems and that she didn’t have a family of her own.

            “I understand that, Sam, but he’s given us an order.” Dean declared matter-of-factly.

            “So what, we gotta always follow Dad’s orders?”

             Talia crossed her arms and gave Sam a look of disbelief, “Of course we do.”

            Sam stared at his brother and when he didn’t contradict Talia’s statement, he stared at the two of them in frustration. Dean soon turned around, signaling that he was done with the argument but Talia continued to hold eye contact with Sam, refusing to look away. 

            She was getting sick and tired of Sam’s constant belligerence and now he was acting like he hadn’t grown up with John as a father. When John told you to do something, you did it. Simple as that. Sam knew that as well as Talia and Dean did, and she wasn’t going to continue to back down from him just because he was mad at John.

            “Sanford Ellicott,” Dean unknowingly broke up the tense moment as he read a name from a sign he’d picked up. “You know what we have to do. We need to find out more about the south wing. See if something happened here.” 

            Talia followed Dean as he walked out of the room without another word to Sam and she felt the heat of Sam’s anger on her back as she walked out of the room.  It scared her a little, how much Sam seemed to have change since she’d last seen him but these last few weeks had shown him to be far different then the boy she remembered.

            After some research, the three of them discovered that there was a local psychiatrist by the name of Dr. James Ellicott, the son of Sanford Ellicott.  On the way to where he worked, the three of them were debating who was going to schedule an ‘appointment’ so they could talk to the doctor and get information about the asylum from him.

            “Why don’t you do it Talia?” Dean suggested. “You’re the one he’s most likely to trust.”

            Talia crossed her arms, “Why, cause I’m a girl?”

            “Well, yeah.” Dean replied, “Come on, it’ll be easy. Just answer a few of his questions and then ask him about his dad and leave.”

            “No.” She refused flatly. “I’m not going in there to talk to some random guy about my feelings. Let Sam go, he’s the one who likes that kind of stuff.”

            Dean looked like he was going to argue again but he must have seen something in her face cause he turned to Sam and decided, “Fine, looks like you’re up.”

            “What?” Sam asked incredulously. “Why can’t you go?”

            Dean snorted and shoved his brother towards the door, “Dude, just get in there.”  He watched his brother walk through the glass door of the psychiatric hospital before he turned back to Talia with a raised brow, “You want to tell me what that was about?”

            Talia had a brief flashback to sitting in an uncomfortable metal chair across from a desk behind which sat a woman with greying hair who asked her endless questions that Talia had refused to answer.  Talia’s only fight in her entirety of high school had happened the first week of school when some kid had made a snide remark about her parents that she’d refused to let slide. After that, she’d been forced to sit in on several sessions with the school psychiatrist.

            Although Talia had rarely spoken during these meetings, the counselor had loved to talk about various aspects of Talia’s life and she’d brought up many things that Talia would prefer to be left buried in the past where they belonged.  Often, only her training as a hunter had kept her from maintain a calm outward demeanor as the woman had tried to garner any reaction from a young Talia, whether it be anger, sadness, or frustration. The whole experience had left Talia with a bitter hatred of psychiatrists in general and there was no way she was willingly going near another one again.

            Realizing Dean was still waiting for an answer, Talia replied, “As an idiotic friend of mine once said, no chick flick moments.”

            Dean snorted in amusement, “Fair enough, little wolf. Can’t say I don’t share your dislike of shrinks. No one in their right mind wants to spend their life talking about their feelings all the time.”

            “Well, Mr. Winchester,” Talia inquired in a snobby tone, “How would you say that makes you feel?”

            The two of them broke into helpless giggles and Talia was grateful that Dean let the subject drop so easily.  They had to wait another two hours before Sam finally emerged from the building and the younger Winchester walked past where they had been leaning against the glass by the door without slowing his pace.  Dean quickly caught up and matched his brother’s quick pace while Talia struggled to keep up with their longer legs.

            “Dude! You were in there forever,” Dean exclaimed, “What the hell were you talking about?”

            Sam seemed uncomfortable at the question and answered, “Just the hospital, you know.” Talia had a feeling he wasn’t being honest, she knew personally how good shrinks were at getting you to talk about uncomfortable topics and she had a feeling that Sam had fallen victim to such tactics. However, she also knew that if Sam didn’t want to talk about then it wasn’t her job to pry into his personal matters so she gave him an out and inquired:

            “And…?”

            “And the south wing? It’s where they housed the really hard cases. The psychotics, the criminally insane.” Sam told them.

            Dean commented sarcastically, “Sounds cozy.”

            “Yeah. And one night in ’64, they rioted. Attacked staff. Attacked each other.”

            “So, the patients took over the asylum.” Talia wondered aloud. “Any deaths?”

            “Some patients, some staff.” Sam replied, “I guess it was pretty gory. Some of the bodies were never even recovered, including our chief of staff, Ellicott.”

            “What do you mean, never recovered?”

            “Cops searched every inch of the place but I guess the patients must’ve…stuffed the bodies somewhere hidden.”

            She made a disgusted face, “That’s grim.”

            “Yeah.” Sam agreed, “So they transferred all the remaining patients and closed the hospital down.”

            “So, to sum it up,” Dean pronounced, “we’ve got a bunch of violent deaths and a bunch of unrecovered bodies.”

            “And a bunch of angry spirits.” Sam added.

            “Good times.” Talia commented, “Sounds like the makings of a haunting to me, guess we better check out the hospital tonight.”

 


	31. Chapter 31

            Just as Talia had expected, the asylum was even creepier at night and she stayed close to Dean’s side as they explored the decrepit hallways.  So far, nothing exciting was happening, although Dean’s EMF reader was going off like crazy, and Talia couldn’t decide whether that was a bad or good thing.  Talia was beginning to think that no spirits would show themselves when she and Dean heard Sam cry out from a nearby room.

            They rushed over and saw an old woman with one bloody eye hanging from the empty socket, hovering close to Sam.  Dean quickly pulled out the shotgun full of salt rounds from the duffle bag he was carrying and blasted a round into the ghost’s head, causing it to disintegrate.  The three of them took a moment to recover their breath before moving on and Sam commented on how strange it was that the spirit didn’t even try to hurt him.

            A noise from another room drew the group’s attention and Talia raised her flashlight to point in its direction while the three of them approached cautiously.   In the corner of the room was an old, rusted metal bed frame lying against the wall on its side and she could just make out the top of a head peeking out from behind it.  Dean aimed his shotgun while Talia pointed her flashlight and Sam leaned over to knock the bed over.

            Talia heard a loud shriek and a young blonde girl cowered in the corner facing them, looking terrified.  Once they had calmed her down and reassured her that they weren’t going to hurt her, she told them her name was Kat and she was here with her boyfriend Gavin but they’d gotten separated.  The trio had tried to get her to let them escort her out of the asylum but she’d refused to leave without her boyfriend.

            Since they now had even numbers, they decided to split up and Kat and Dean headed off in one direction while Talia went with Sam in the opposite direction to look for Gavin.  It had only been a few minutes with Talia and Sam turned a corner and saw Gavin passed out on the floor.  The two of them rushed to him and shook him awake.  After he had recovered, he told them how he’d been attacked by a girl, Talia exchanged a look with Sam when the description he gave of her sounded eerily like the spirit that had approached Sam earlier.  Gavin told them the girl hadn’t hurt him but had kissed him and tried to whisper something in his ear that he hadn’t heard because he’d run away.

            “Sounds like the spirits are trying to communicate with us, not hurt us.” Sam wondered aloud to Talia who nodded her head in agreement.

            Suddenly, a distant shriek filtered into the room followed by the unmistakable sound of Dean shouting and a strange banging noise.  Talia immediately sprang up and ran back the way they’d come, towards the source of the disturbance.  She came upon Dean, trying to pry open a closed metal door with a crowbar.

            “What’s going on?” She asked frantically.

            “She’d inside with one of them.”

            Just as he spoke, Talia heard Kat scream for help from the other side of the metal door while Sam and Gavin caught up to them.  Sam stepped up to the metal door and shouted through it, “Kat, it’s not going to hurt you. Listen to me. You’ve got to face it. You’ve got to calm down.”

            Dean turned to Sam in astonishment. “She’s gotta what?!”

            “He’s right.” Talia told him, “they’re not trying to hurt us. They’re trying to communicate.”

            “You’ve got to face it.” Sam continued to shout encouragements to Kat, “You gotta listen to it.”

            “You face it!” She screamed back hysterically.

            “No! It’s the only way to get out of there. Look at it, come on. You can do it.”

            The only response to Sam’s finally words of encouragement was silence and they all waited anxiously.  After what felt like an eternity, the door slowly creaked open and Kat was standing in the doorway looking slightly shell-shocked.  Sam immediately rushed past her into the room but came out shaking his head at Talia and Dean, indicating to them that the spirit was gone.

            Talia saw Kat stand next to Gavin and declare softly, “One thirty-seven. It whispered in my ear. 137.”

            Sam and Dean turned to each other and realized at the same time, “Room number.”

            “Jeez guys, I swear your creepy sibling synchronization is almost scarier than spirits sometimes.” Talia commented.

            Dean rolled his eyes and dragged her off to the side and Sam followed suit.

            “Alright. So if these spirits aren’t trying to hurt anyone…”

            “Then what are they trying to do?” Dean finished for his brother.

            “Guys, you’re doing it again.” Talia chided them and received twin glares from both brothers causing her to raise her hands defensively. “Fine, fine. I get it. Not the time to be making jokes. And maybe the ghosts have been trying to tell you what they want you to do.”

            “I guess we will find out.” Dean declared before standing up and announcing so the entire group could hear, “So, now, are you guys ready to leave this place?”

            “That’s an understatement.” Kat replied sarcastically.

            “Okay.” Dean turned to Talia. “You and Sam get them out of here. I’m going to go find room 137.”

            “Woah, there’s no way you’re exploring the asylum all by yourself. Sam can babysit them just fine all by himself.”

            “I’ll be fine and Sam’s gonna need your help protecting both of them if you run into trouble.”

            “Come on, Talia.” Sam argued with a hint of aggravation, “The quicker we leave the sooner we can meet back with him.”

            Talia grumbled but acquiesced and stood by while she watched Dean walking down the hallway deeper into the asylum, shining his flashlight off the walls. “If I come back to find you dead, Winchester, I’ll kill you.” She called out to his retreating figure before turning with a sigh, “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”

            Talia and Sam led the young couple back to the entrance of the building but when they tried to open the door they found it locked.  They continued trying multiple doors but none of them even budged and they quickly realized that something didn’t want them to leave.  Talia and Sam were discussing their options and figuring out what to do next when Talia’s phone began ringing in her pocket.

            Knowing only one person could be calling her, she answered, “Hey, Dean. What’s up?” The connection on the other line was scratchy and she could barely make out his response through the static.

            “Talia, I see it. It’s coming at me.”

            “Where are you?” She demanded in a hurry.

            “I’m in the basement. Hurry-” Dean’s voice cut off at the end.

            “I’m on my way.” Talia responded simply before snapping her phone shut and turning to Sam and swiftly telling him, “Dean’s in trouble in the basement. I’ve gotta go. Stay with them.”

            “Talia! Hold on, wait up!” Sam cried after her but she ignored him.

            She knew she shouldn’t have let Dean go by himself and she prayed to god she could get there in time to help him.  When she got to the stairs, she slowed down her breakneck pace and proceeded with more caution holding her flashlight out in front of her to illuminate the shadows that stretched across the rooms.

            Talia approached a wooden door with a glass window that had the words ‘Boiler Room’ painted across it in red. “Dammit, even the paint is creepy.” Talia complained aloud to herself before she pulled open the creaky door and stalked forward cautiously.  She could feel her heartbeat in her ear as she tried to remain as calm as possible with the adrenaline rushing through her body.

            She moved her flashlight quickly from left to right, looking everywhere for any sign of Dean but too afraid to call out his name and call attention to herself in case there was something else around.  She came across another metal door that was covered in rust and stained with something else that looked suspiciously like blood.

            The room on the other side was entirely made of metal and looked even more disgusting than the door had.  Talia’s flashlight chose that moment to start flickering before it completely died and she smacked it with her hands desperately, “Don’t you die on me now dammit. I refuse to be a horror movie stereotype.”

            She started hitting the flashlight with a little more force as it remained resolutely dark when a jarring creaking noise behind her made her swivel around to see a door that she hadn’t noticed before swing open, seemingly of its own accord.  “Shit.” She thought to herself before stashing the flashlight in a pocket and raised her gun before stepping slowly through the doorway that had opened.  

            “Dean?” She called out as loudly as she dared before whispering to herself, “Please be you, please be you.” It looked like an abandoned surgical room and it was populated with worn metal tables paired with trays of miscellaneous surgical instruments that did not look properly sanitized.  The different operating areas were sectioned off by several different plastic drapes that hung from the ceiling and as Talia was searching about the room, she saw a shadow move behind a curtain at the end of the room.

            Silently moving forward, she stopped right before the curtain and breathed deeply before ripping the curtain aside, her gun aimed forward in preparation to find…nothing.  Talia frowned slightly in confusion, she could have sworn she’d seen something moving but it must have been her mind playing tricks on her.  She turned to exit the room only to be faced with an old, man with patchy white hair and a ragged lab coat on with various wounds littering his grey skin.

            Talia yelped in fright and the man seized her head between his hands, pressing his fingers firmly into her face as he told her, “Don’t be afraid. I’m going to make you all better.” Talia faintly noticed a blue light emanating from his thumbs that were digging into her cheeks and then all she knew was pain as electricity seemed to bounce between his hands and ricochet throughout her skull.

            The shocks seemed to dig straight into her head, attacking her brain but before it could get far, they slammed into a glowing wall of light in her mind that was wrapped around her brain, protecting it.  Like an ocean wave meeting a cliff face, the electricity was halted in its tracks and fizzled out.  The man grunted in surprise before redoubling his efforts, clamping even sharper onto her head and forcing her backwards with the strength of his grip. 

            Talia cried out in pain as a stronger, shocking wave zapped into her skull and it felt like her head was frying but the wave of light in her mind surged forward and pushed back against the electricity sending it back into the man’s hands.  He gave a shout of surprise and finally released her staring at her in surprise as she collapsed onto floor, her head pulsing and black spots swimming in her vision as she felt the dark brink of unconsciousness calling her.

            She fought to stay awake and watched in horror as Sam sprinted into the room and spotted her lying on the floor, calling out her name in surprise.  He rushed over to her, so preoccupied that he didn’t notice the man waiting in the shadows until Sam received the same treatment that Talia had.  She tried to stand but a wave of blackness swamped her and she scrunched her eyes shut as pain pulsated in her brain.

            When her mind was clear once more, she sat up against a wall and she saw Sam staring at her with an odd look on his face, one that’d she’d never seen before.  Talia figured he was just weirded out by whatever the ghost had been trying to do to them. She suddenly realized that they still hadn’t found Dean and she dragged herself to her feet as quick as she could, using the wall for support.

            “Don’t worry about me Sam,” she called out jokingly, “I don’t need any help.” He didn’t respond to her jest and she turned to walk out the room declaring, “Now let’s go find Dean. I hope the creepy doctor didn’t get to him too.”  A sudden strong grip on her arm stopped her from walking forward and she looked at Sam to see him holding her back.

            “Of course, it’s always about him.” He sneered, bitterness in his voice and she turned to face him in shock. He was looking at her oddly again but now she was beginning to detect the familiar anger in his face that’d she’d seen directed at her countless times in the last few weeks.

            “What the hell are you talking about?” She asked in confusion. “Now let me go so we can find Dean and get the hell out of here.”

            Instead, Sam shoved her backwards, away from the exit and stood, towering in front of her and blocking her path to the door. “Dean, Dean, Dean. Always about him. It’s sickening how much you let my brother rule your life. I mean, do you ever make a decision for yourself that doesn’t revolve around him.”

            Talia shrank back at the force of his rage, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She argued meekly.

            “You had a chance, an out. You were never meant to be a hunter and you could have gotten out but you let my brother drag you back into this life. A life your father never wanted for you.”  Sam stalked towards her as he ranted, forcing Talia to back up until she ran into the wall behind her and he raised his gun to aim it right at her chest.

            Talia felt fear spike in her veins, partially because of the gun pointed at her but mainly due to the implications of Sam’s words. He _knew._ She didn’t know how he knew and she didn’t know when he found out but somehow Sam knew about her secret and she felt a shot of rage as she realized he’d been going through her stuff.

            “I’m done letting Dean destroy anyone else’s lives. He did it to you, and he’s done it to me. We could have both been free but now you’ll have to settle for a different kind of freedom.” Sam declared ominously but before he could pull the trigger of the gun, Talia leaped forward to attack him and grabbed for the gun.

            It was a futile battle, Sam significantly outweighed her, and as she tried to rip the gun from his hands, he pulled it free and in his anger, he struck her across the face with it. Then, all she knew was blackness.

* * *

          Talia’s head had been through enough trauma today to last a lifetime and she felt like a herd of elephants had trampled on her skull.  Groaning, she looked around to find herself alone in the room full of surgical equipment. Talia realized that whatever the doctor had tried and failed to do to her, had worked on Sam because no matter how angry he’d been at her lately, she knew this was not like him at all.

            Suddenly she heard the muffled sound of voices coming from the other side of the door, her head was still ringing enough that she couldn’t focus enough to hear the exact words but she could distinguish that it was Sam and Dean’s voices.  She stumbled to the door, determined to stop Sam before he hurt Dean, or worse. She ripped the door open just as she heard the cocking of a gun and took in enough of the scene to see Sam leveling a gun at Dean’s chest before she reacted without thinking and jumped in front of the gun.

            There was a loud bang and then a force like a battering ram slammed into Talia’s chest sending her flying backwards through the door she’d just entered, breaking it as she fell back onto the floor.  The blow knocked the wind out of her and she gasped for air as she lay on the ground.

            “Talia!” Dean shouted and rushed to her side kneeling next to her as she tried to catch her breath.

            Talia finally managed to get her lungs working properly again and she gathered enough air to gasp out, “Hey.”

            Dean let out a brief sharp laugh that was more nerves then actual amusement but it made her smile all the same.  He then turned to his brother who was towering over them both glaring at them, aiming his gun at Dean from where he was knelt next to Talia.

            “Sam!” Dean pleaded, “We gotta burn Ellicott’s bones and all this will be over, and you’ll be back to normal.” Dean laid a restraining hand on Talia to keep her from sitting up although she was still struggling to breathe through the pain across her entire chest and didn’t feel up to any kind of movement.

            “I am normal. I’m just telling the truth for the first time. I mean, why are we even here? Cause you’re following Dad’s orders like a good little soldier? Because you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval?” Sam yelled angrily.

            “This isn’t you talking, Sam.” Dean tried to reason with him.

            “That’s the difference between you and me.” Sam sneered, “I have a mind of my own. I’m not pathetic, like you. I don’t bring others into my messy life and drag them down with me.” Sam motioned to where Talia was lying on the ground. “Look at this, look what you’ve done to her. How many times has she gotten hurt since you picked her up? You are nothing but a terrible negative influence on her life, constantly forcing her to make bad decisions with you and getting her injured in the process. It’s amazing you haven’t gotten her killed at this point.”

            Talia felt Dean’s hand tighten in anger, “So what are you gonna do, huh?” He goaded his brother, real rage entering his voice for the first time, “Are you gonna kill me?”

            “You know what, I am sick of doing what you tell me to do.  We’re no closer to finding Dad today than we were six months ago.”

            “Well then here, let me make it easier for you.” Dean rummaged into his jacket and withdrew a pistol, carefully holding it out to Sam, “Go on,” He challenged, “Take it.  Real gun is going to work a hell of a lot better than rock salt. Take it!” He yelled.

            Talia couldn’t believe what was happening, why was Dean handing Sam a loaded gun, full of actual bullets. “Dean.” Her voice was raspy and barely audible and she tried to sit up, grimacing in pain but Dean pushed her back down, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly and she was forced to lay back down, trusting that he had some sort of plan. She saw Sam grab the pistol from his older brother and aim it at Dean who was still knelt protectively over Talia.

            “You hate me that much?” Dean inquired softly, “You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead.  Pull the trigger.” Talia couldn’t believe that Dean was banking his life on Sam not being able to kill his own brother after his mind had been messed with and she shut her eyes, unable to watch as she could see a struggle happening on Sam’s face.

            “Do it!” Dean cried and a there was a loud click as Sam pulled the trigger but the weapon didn’t fire. Talia heaved a giant sigh of relief, feeling tension drain from her body. Of course, there were no bullets in the gun.  Dean surged upwards and swung at Sam with a right cross, knocking him to the ground.

            Standing over his younger brother he berated him, “Man, I’m not going to give you a loaded pistol!”  Dean delivered another strong punch that knocked Sam out cold, patting him on the shoulder after he lay unconscious, “Sorry, Sammy.”

            Dean then walked over to Talia and looked down at her as he asked, “What in the hell were you thinking?” There was a strong note of anger in his voice that surprised her.

            “I was thinking I was gonna save you from a gunshot.” Talia replied, having fully regained her breath. “It seemed like a brilliant plan at the time.”

            “Yeah, well don’t ever do it again.” Dean told her bluntly. “I don’t need you to sacrifice yourself to save me.”  His voice lightened as he helped her to her feet and added, “I’m guessing by your desperate leap that you forgot that Sam’s gun was full of rock salt, huh?”

            “Yeah,” Talia admitted abashedly, “I seemed to have forgotten that. Kinda ruins the whole heroic nature of my moment when the bullet I stopped wasn’t exactly deadly.” She frowned in mock disappointment.

            Dean smirked, “Probably hurt like hell though so I’ll give you half credit.” He released Talia to let her stand on her own two feet and she felt herself sway on her feet dizzily, feeling extremely light headed. “Woah.” Dean exclaimed, grabbing her again to steady her and then his gaze hardened into a glare as he moved one of his hands grip her chin and turn her head slightly to the side. His grip was gentle but firm as he examined her forehead, “What the hell? When did you get such a nasty bruise on your head?”

            “Shit.” Talia cursed under breath, but she couldn’t push him away since she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand on her own yet so she was forced to reluctantly explain, “I might have run into ‘angry Sam’ before you did.”

            “Dammit.” Dean cursed, “I should have hit him harder.”

            “Dean, stop. It’s not his fault, the doctor messed with his head. Don’t blame him for this.” She pulled her out of his hand to stare at him and the two of them glared at each other, their faces inches apart until Dean finally relented and stepped away.

            “Good,” Talia declared, “now let’s find Dr. Frankenstein’s body and salt and burn this bitch.”


	32. Chapter 32

            Dean pulled out his flashlight and the two of them searched through the room, pushing back the ragged plastic curtains as they looked for places where a body might be hiding.  A few minutes went by and Dean called Talia over, pointing at a tuft of something poking out of the corner of a closed cupboard on the ground.  He crouched in front of it and yanked the door open to reveal a mummified corpse crammed into the small space

            Talia, who had been peering over his shoulder, recoiled in disgust at the rancid smell of decomposing flesh that wafted out. She saw Dean flinch back as well as he exclaimed, “Oh, that’s just gross.”  He then held out his hand and she handed him the salt from the duffle bag that’d she already grabbed in anticipation.  He shook the container and spread a coating of salt over the corpse and then took the small tin of kerosene that Talia held out and began dousing the corpse, “Soak it up.”

            Talia rolled her eyes at his commentary and neither of them noticed the gurney rolling towards them until it slammed into Dean knocking him sideways into Talia and causing the them to both fall on the floor from the impact.  Talia groaned in anger, she was getting real tired of this psychotic doctor’s shit.  Speak of the devil, the spirit of Dr. Ellicott appeared and knelt over Dean, grabbing his head between his hands as electricity crackled on his fingertips.

            Dean shouted in pain and Talia heard the creepy doctor chanting, “Don’t’ be afraid. I’m going to help you. I’m going to make you all better.”

            Talia reached desperately for the duffle bag where Dean’s lighter was. If she could get it and throw it onto the corpse, the body would burn and the spirit would be gone.  She dragged her tired and beaten body across the floor as quickly as she could go and when she finally reached the bag, she rummaged haphazardly through it until she gripped the tiny metal lighter triumphantly.

            Flicking it open with a snap, she rolled her thumb along the wheel and a small flame flickered into life.  She threw it into the cupboard and it immediately caught fire and the entire body went up in flames.  As his remains continued to burn, Dr. Ellicott stared at his hands in shock, releasing Dean who crawled backwards until he ran into Talia who was sitting on the ground.  She grabbed onto his jacket and hauled him towards her protectively and they both watched in horror as the ghost blackened before them.

            Its form began to crumble away and they shielded their eyes as it fell forward and exploded into a cloud of dust.  Silence reigned for a few seconds before Talia cautiously lowered her arm to see the dusty remains of the spirit scattered about.  She let out a relieved laugh and elbowed Dean lightly, “You know what they say, a zippo a day keeps the doctor away.”

            Dean looked over at her with a groan, “Are you serious?” She grinned widely at him and he laughed and rolled his eyes at her, “You’re ridiculous.” A moan from behind them interrupted the moment and they turned to see Sam slowly waking up, massaging his jaw with a hand and Talia could see a bruise blossoming on it from where Dean had punched him.

            “You’re not going to try and kill me, are ya?” Dean asked tiredly as he looked back at his brother.

            “No.” Sam answered, still rubbing his jaw.

            “Good.” Talia declared, “Because that would be awkward.” Dean snorted in amused agreement.

            Sometime later, they finally walked their bone-weary bodies out of the asylum after they met back up with Gavin and Kat. When they stepped outside, they discovered the sun had risen and a new day had started. They’d been in the asylum all night.  Talia stood next to Dean, leaning against him as she tried to stay awake despite the pain and exhaustion that was swamping her body. She watched Gavin and Kat get in their car and drive away and she felt a small sense of satisfaction that they’d managed to save the couple from danger.

            “Hey, guys?” Sam called out apologetically. “I’m sorry. I said some awful things back there.”

            “You remember all that?” Dean asked in surprise.

            “Yeah. It’s like I couldn’t control it. But I didn’t mean it, any of it.” He said the last part with emphasis, begging them to believe him.

            “You didn’t, huh?” Disbelief was evident in Dean’s tone.

            “No, of course not!” Sam blurted out and then asked, “Do we need to talk about this?”

            “No.” Dean turned and gently guided Talia to the back of the Impala with a hand on her lower back, “I’m not really in the sharing and caring kinda mood.” He shut the door after Talia got in. “I just wanna get some sleep.”

            Silence reigned in the car the entire way back to the motel but Talia was too tired to feel awkward about it.  She walked into the room, looking forward to some sleep but as she tossed her bag on the bed, Dean announced, “I’m gonna go out for a drink.” He then made eye contact with Talia and nodded his head pointedly at Sam, who was sitting with his head in his hands at the table, before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

            Talia sighed, remembering the conversation she’d had earlier with Dean where she promised to talk to Sam and fix whatever was wrong between them but now that the moment had come, she was reluctant to bring it up.  Trying to delay, she distracted herself by rustling through her bag on the pretense of organizing her belongings. Suddenly, she felt the sharp crinkle of paper brush her hand and it sent a lightning bolt of realization through her.

            A hot rage burned her blood and she gripped the packet tight in her hands but kept her back to Sam as she called out, “Sam. We need to talk.” She turned, crossing her arms. “When did you go through my stuff?”

            “What?” Sam raised his head, “What are you talking about?”

            Talia stalked forward and slapped the packet down on the table in front of him, punctuating each of her words sharply. “When did you go snooping through my things?” Sam stared at the papers in front of him in shock his mouth opening and closing as he tried to come up with a response. “And don’t even dare act like you don’t know. We both remember what you said in that asylum and you whether you meant it or not, you weren’t lying. Now answer the damn question, Sam. How long have you known?”

            He sighed heavily before mumbling, “About a month.”

            Talia froze as she did the math in her head, tracing back to when Sam had first starting acting mad around her; it had been right after they’d dealt with the Hook Man, a month ago.  “You’ve been throwing a hissy fit about this for over a month and you never said anything to me! What the hell, dude??”

            “I didn’t mention it because I didn’t know what to say!” Sam exclaimed as he stood up violently shoving his chair back in anger. “What do you say to someone who’s just thrown their life away?”

            “I don’t know what you mean.” Talia replied.

            “Really?” Sam yelled at her. “You could have gotten out! Gone to college and been free of this life, been safe and away from all the danger this family brings. But you threw it all away and I still don’t understand why you’d do that.” He took a deep breath before continuing at a lower but no less upset tone, “I checked the date, and after we dealt with the Women in White, you still had plenty of time for you to make it but you never said anything. Why? I don’t understand why you would give up such a huge opportunity like this, a chance to live a normal life.”

            “I can’t live a normal life!” Talia shouted and Sam seemed taken aback at her words. “I tried Sam, god I tried. Living in that house by myself, I tried to pretend I was just another teenager going to high school, but I was always just faking it.  I’m a hunter, it’s who I am and what I am and I couldn’t escape it even if I wanted to.”

            “Maybe you just didn’t try hard enough!”

            “Didn’t try?” Talia’s voice was tight with emotions as she continued.  “Do you know what it’s like?  How do you spend years by yourself, living in a society in which you don’t belong and abandoned by the only family, hell the only _people_ , you know. You don’t, Sam…” Talia couldn’t meet his eyes and she admitted, “I didn’t live, I got by and as soon as Dean came by, offering to take me away and back to the life I knew, I didn’t think twice.”

            “You didn’t even give it a chance.” Sam argued, although he’d lost some of his fire, “Maybe you just needed to go far away and give yourself more time to get used to it. Everyone deserves a chance at a normal life and it took me a long time to ever feel remotely normal but once I did…” he trailed off for a moment, “I didn’t regret leaving, and I still don’t. You shouldn’t let this family drag you down with it.”

            “I’m not you Sam!” Talia exclaimed with exasperation, “I can’t just up and leave my family without looking back, okay? I remember the night you left, Sam.  I was there after you were gone and I saw what it did to Dean…and John?” Talia trailed off with a wince, lost in the memory for a moment before she continued, “I just couldn’t bring myself to do the same thing to him again. Not like that.”

            She wished she could say she felt guilty for the hurt in Sam’s eyes as she called him out on the pain he’d caused them by leaving but she felt slightly satisfied. She didn’t think he’d ever really considered how much his departure had broken the Winchesters.

            Talia could almost see Sam mulling over all she’d said in his mind and he declared in confusion. “I still don’t get it, the forms in the packet were all signed and ready to go, you even bought a plane ticket. That sounds like you were planning on going.”

            “I almost did.” Talia admitted softly, sinking into a chair, “I had my bags packed and I was gonna do it. Take a big step and hope that maybe I could do better in another country.  I meant to call Dean that day and tell him but then he showed up on my door out of nowhere, asking for help and, god Sam.” She put her head in her hands, “I saw his face and I couldn’t…I just couldn’t.  How could I do that to him?”

            “It shouldn’t have been about him.” Sam argued, “You had been living alone for years and I know Dean wasn’t able to see you more than once or twice a year so why would seeing Dean-” Sam froze midsentence as realization dawned on his face and Talia looked at him with a twinge of concern.

            “What?” She asked cautiously

            “Of course,” Sam threw his hands on his head and began talking to himself, “I’m so dumb. Dean showed up, for the first time since this whole thing comes up, and he needs your help to find Dad.” He looked up at Talia and there was triumph in his eyes as he declared, “You changed you mind because of Dean, because John was gone and he was the only one keeping you away. You stayed because you l-”

            “No!” Talia exclaimed, cutting him off angrily, “Sam Winchester, don’t you dare say another word or so help me god I will-”

            “How long have you known this?” Sam interrupted her threat, “I didn’t think you actually realized it.”

            “Wait,” Talia peered at him suspiciously, “you’re not at all surprised by this.” Then she froze as a thought came to her. “Shit, it’s not that obvious, is it?”

            “My friend, Rebecca pointed it out to me and after she said something I started to notice it but only because I know you so well.” Sam reassured her but then a frown marred his features, “Wait, does Dean not know this?” He shook his head and answered his own question, “He’s as dense as a doorknob, of course he hasn’t noticed but why haven’t you told him!?”

            Talia was not comfortable with where the conversation had turned to but she reluctantly answered Sam’s questions, knowing by the inquisitive look in his eyes that he wouldn’t let her get away without answering. “Because to him, I’m a younger sister and nothing more. I long ago accepted that nothing could ever happen. Besides, it’s just a stupid childhood crush, I’ll get over it eventually.”

            “But-”

            “No.” Talia stood up, “I’m not talking about this anymore. Now you have to promise me that you won’t ever tell Dean about this.” She stared hard at the youngest Winchester, “ _Any_ of this. You don’t have to agree with my decision but I expect you to keep it a secret.”

            “Are you sure-”

            “Never.” Talia interrupted firmly. “He is never to hear of this.”

            “Okay,” Sam acquiesced reluctantly, “I promise.”

            Talia signaled the end of the conversation by grabbing the packet off the table before walking over to her bag and restoring it to its proper place, buried beneath all her clothing.  She felt oddly relieved after getting her secret off her chest and although that conversation had been harrowing, it felt good to have fixed things with Sam although she was slightly concerned by the gleam in his eyes following the revelation about her feelings for Dean.

            She’d do a lot worse to Sam then the good doctor had if he ever told his brother about what she’d said. She didn’t want her friendship with Dean to be ruined by him finding out how she felt when she knew he didn’t feel the same way. After all she’d been through, and losing both her parents, she couldn’t stand to lose her best friend as well.

 

* * *

 

            Talia felt movement on the bed next to her that dragged her from unconsciousness and she blearily blinked her eyes as she sat up to figure out what had woken Dean up. She felt like she’d only just laid down for sleep and her head still ached from her run in with the evil doctor at the asylum.

            “Is that Dad?” She heard Dean ask from beside her and she looked over to seem him staring at his brother who was sitting up in bed as well, talking on the phone. She sighed in resignation, if Sam was talking to John then there wasn’t any chance of getting anymore sleep.  Next to her, Dean was focused in on Sam and, noticing that he was shirtless, she preemptively leaned forward to grab his shirt from the end of the bed where he must have tossed it last night and threw it at him.

            Dean shot her a quick grateful glance as he pulled it on and turned fully sideways to face Sam as he demanded the phone from his younger brother who, by the sound of it, was on his way to another argument with John.  From the side of the conversation that she could hear, she determined that John was after the demon that had killed Sam and Dean’s mom and Jess as well.  Sam was refusing to do something for John and instead insisting that he let them help him hunt down the demon.

            Finally, Dean seemed to have had enough and he leaned over to rip the phone from Sam’s hand. “Dad, it’s me. Where are you.” There was silence and Talia leaned over to press her ear to the other side of the phone so she could hear what John was saying.  He told Dean to write down a list of names and Talia reached over to grab the pad of paper and pen that were lying on the nightstand paper and handed it to him.

            “Uh, yeah, I got a pen.” Dean replied once he’d taken the things from Talia, “What are their names?”

            Seeing no point in listening into the phone conversation anymore, Talia stood up to get dressed for the day, figuring that they’d be on the road again soon. She glanced over at Sam and noticed him giving her and Dean a hard glare but she shrugged her shoulders under his fierce gaze. They were just following John’s orders as always, he needn’t act so surprised by it.

            Sure enough, true to Talia’s predictions, they were on the road within 15 minutes and surprisingly enough, Dean had let Sam drive while he looked up information on the list that John had given them. Talia was helping from the backseat as well.

            “Alright, so, the names Dad gave us, they’re all couples?” Sam inquired as he drove.

            “Three different couples.” Dean told him. “All went missing.”

            “And they’re all from different towns? Different states?” Sam asked, wonderingly.

            “That’s right.” Talia chimed in. “You got Washington, New York, and Colorado.  Each couple took a road trip cross-country and none of them arrive at their destination; none of them were ever heard from again.”

            “Well, it’s a big country.” Sam replied sarcastically, “They could’ve disappeared anywhere.”

            “Yeah, they could’ve.” Dean spoke up, defending Talia. “but each one’s route took them to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another.”

            In dawning realization, Sam declared what Dean and Talia had already thought of, “This is the second week of April.”

            “Yup.” Talia agreed.

            “So,” Sam thought out, “Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?”

            “Yahtzee.” Dean exclaimed in agreement with his brother’s conclusion. Dean didn’t appear to have noticed the slight frustration in Sam’s tone because he continued on to comment “Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obituaries Dad had to go through? The man’s a master.”

            Talia smacked Dean lightly to get him to shut up. While she agreed that John’s research was impressive, she had also noticed the increasingly annoyed face that Sam was making and Dean looked up to see what Talia had already noticed just as Sam pulled the car over to the side of the road and cut off the engine.

            “What are you doing?” Talia asked nervously, sensing an argument coming.

            “We’re not going to Indiana.” Sam declared.

            “We’re not?” Dean asked in confusion but Talia had a feeling she knew where this was going and her guess was proved right with Sam’s next words:

            “No. We’re going to California. Dad called from a payphone with a Sacramento area code.”

            “Sam.” Talia pleaded, begging him not to start this fight.

            Sam ignored her and turned slightly to face his brother, trying to convince him as he explained, “Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad’s closing in, we’ve got to be there. We’ve gotta help.”

            “Dad doesn’t want our help.” Dean argued with conviction.

            “Well, I don’t care.” Sam replied stubbornly.

            Talia leaned forward, frustrated by Sam’s obstinate reply as she reminded him, “He’s given us an order.”

            “I don’t care.” Sam repeated firmly, “We don’t always have to do what he says.”

            Talia scoffed in disbelief at his words while Dean told his brother, “Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it’s important.”

            “Alright, I understand, believe me.” Sam placated, “But I’m talking one week here, guys, to get answers. To get revenge.”

            “Alright,” Dean said calmly, “look, I know how you feel.”

            “Do you?” Sam cut him off and Talia saw Dean’s shock at his brother’s tone. “How old were you when Mom died?” Sam asked aggressively, “Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?”

            Talia couldn’t believe what Sam was saying and she shot a glare at him for what he was implicating. She knew first-hand how traumatizing it was for a young child to go through the death of a parent and in a way, Sam was lucky that he was too young to remember anything about his mom’s death.  She frowned slightly as she watched the emotion drop from Dean’s face as he closed off as he always did at the mention of his mom.

            Frowning slightly at this, Talia turned to Sam and argued, “John said it wasn’t safe. For any of us. Obviously, this means he must know something that we don’t and so, if he tells us to stay away, we stay away. It’s that simple.”

            Sam shook his head in disgust. “I don’t understand that blind faith you have in the man. Both of you! It’s like you don’t even question him.”

            “Yeah,” Dean exclaimed crossly, “it’s called being a good son!”

            Talia watched Sam huff in anger as he stormed out of the Impala and she cursed under her breath as both her and Dean exited as well, watching Sam begin to unload things from the trunk.  Talia had thought this was the same old argument they always had and the issue had come up so often recently that she figured it would end as it always did – with both brothers eventually dropping the subject and agreeing to disagree. Clearly, this time was far different as apparent by Sam’s furious packing.

            “You’re a selfish bastard, you know that?” Dean inquired rhetorically. “You just do whatever you want. Don’t care what anybody thinks.”

            Talia winced internally at Dean’s words, they were right on par with what she’d implied about Sam in their conversation last night and although it sounded a lot harsher when stated so blatantly, she still agreed with Dean.  She didn’t get why Sam couldn’t just let go of his own wishes and do as John said like they always used to. John was always looking out for them and when he gave an order, it was usually for your own safety and Sam didn’t seem to grasp that.

            “That’s what you really think?” Sam questioned facing his brother head on.

            “Yes, it is.” Dean declared.

            “Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California.” Sam announced as he slung the backpack he’d been tossing things into around his shoulder and started walking away down the street.

            “Sam, wait!” Talia called out, “Please, you’re not serious about this?”

            “I am serious.” He responded grimly.

            “It’s the middle of the night!” Dean called out after his retreating form. “Hey, I’m taking off, I will leave your ass, you hear me?”

            Sam halted and spun around to declare in a tired voice, “That’s what I want you to do.”

            There was a moment of silence as both brothers stared at each other and Talia could see stubborn determination in both of their eyes.  No matter what they felt, neither of them were going to go back on what they said even though she could also detect a hint of pain in both of their eyes.  Sam turned to continue walking away and Talia rushed after him, pulling on his arm to stop him and force him to look at her.

            “Sam, please. Don’t do this.” She pleaded, “Don’t leave like this.”

            “You were right, Talia. You’re not me and I’m not you.” Sam declared furiously, “ _I_ can make my own decisions and I’m not going to blindly do what I’m told.”

            Infuriated, Talia dropped her hand from his arm and glared back at him as she bit back, “Fine. Leave then. Throw a fit and abandon your family like you always do.” She spun away and stalked back towards the Impala where Dean was still standing and threw over her shoulder a bitter, “Goodbye, Sam.”

            Dean was staring at her with mild surprise as she slammed the trunk of the Impala and then declared, “Come on, Dean. Let’s go.” She pointedly glanced back at Sam with a glower as she crawled into the front seat of the car. She thought the two of them were on good terms after their discussion last night but it seems like all they could do these days was argue and it was straining her nerves.

            She watched from within as Dean looked back at his brother once more, before he seemed to realize that this was really happening and he stepped into the car and turned the keys to let the engine roar back to life.  As they pulled away, leaving Sam standing in the middle of the gravel road, Talia stubbornly refused to glance back once and she focused solely on the rhythmic crunching of the gravel beneath the Impala’s tires.


	33. Chapter 33

            The cloudy gray sky seemed to reflect the mood of the car as Dean and Talia pulled into a small town in Indiana where all the missing couples had stopped.  Talia watched Dean cut off the engine and stare forward, his brow furrowed in thought before he pulled his phone from his jacket pocket.  He flipped it open and scrolled through his contact list before hovering over Sam’s name and she could tell he was thinking about calling his brother.

            As if he could feel her stare, he looked over and met her gaze, indecision swimming in his eyes and she answered his unspoken question by reaching over and shutting his phone as she told him, “Don’t do it, Dean. Sam made his choice.”  When he still didn’t seem reassured she added, “He’ll be fine and we certainly don’t need his help hunting.”

            Dean finally nodded in agreement, “You’re right, let’s go.”

            They both got out and looked around for a moment before Talia pointed towards a nearby building that had a sign hanging out front that read ‘Scotty’s Café’ and sitting beneath it was a middle-aged man. “That’s as good a place as any to ask around.” She suggested and Dean led the way towards the man.

            “Let me guess.” Dean started once they had gotten to the man, “Scotty.” He pointed to the sign above their heads.

            “Yep.” The man, Scotty, confirmed but didn’t say anything else.

            Undeterred, Dean moved forward. “Hi, my name’s John Bonham.”

            “Isn’t that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?” Scotty asked suspiciously.

            Talia could see that Dean was taken aback by this as he stuttered out a reply. “Wow. Good, You’re a classic rock fan.”  People didn’t usually call him out when he used names from his favorite bands as aliases but she’d been telling him for years that the habit was going to get him into trouble one day.

            Stepping in to try and remedy the situation, Talia stepped forward slightly and introduced herself, “I’m Pat, by the way.” She held her hand out in greeting and in a moment of inspiration added, “Pat Bonham. His wife.”  After an awkward couple of seconds, where Scotty simply glared at her, she realized he wasn’t going to shake her hand and shrank backwards behind Dean who gave her an odd look.

            “What can I do for you two?” Scotty asked, his tone implying that he’d rather do anything than help them.

            Dean rummaged in his pocket and then pulled out the two missing person flyers they’d printed out for the most recent couple that had disappeared, named Holly and Vince Parker. He handed them to Scotty as he inquired, “I was wondering if, uh, you’d seen these people by chance.”

            “Nope. Who are they?”

            “Friends of ours.” Talia explained, “They went missing about a year ago and passed through somewhere around here on a road trip. We’ve already asked around Scottsburg and Salem with no luck.”

            “Sorry,” Scotty handed the flyers back to Dean as he explained, “We don’t get many strangers around here.”  His face and tone continued to remain uninterested and bored by this discussion as he stared back at Dean and Talia with a straight face.

            “Scotty, you’ve got a smile that lights up a room, anybody ever tell you that?” Dean joked and Talia snorted lightly in amusement but Scotty just stared back him strangely, unamused. “Never mind, see you around.” Dean pulled Talia with him as he walked away and they looked for somewhere else to get some information.

            “Why don’t we try asking around in there?”  Talia pointed at a nearby general store and then added sarcastically, “Although I don’t think we’ll find anyone as friendly as our pal Scotty. Boy, was he a bucket of laughs.”

            Dean chuckled in agreement and they entered the store to find an older couple running it. However, when they repeated the question they’d asked Scotty, they got the same negative response although the couple seemed a little more helpful and friendly.

            “You sure they didn’t stop for gas or something?” Dean tried again.

            The man, showed the pictures to his wife who shook her head and then he turned back to reply, “Nope, don’t remember them. You said they were friends of yours?”

            “That’s right.” Talia nodded.

            “Did the guy have a tattoo?” A voice called and Talia turned to see a woman about her own age walking down the stairs carrying some boxes in her arms.

            “Yes, he did.” Dean confirmed turning to face the newcomer handing her the picture they had of the missing man for her to look at.

            She set the boxes down on the counter and then examined the photo before turning to the older couple and prompting, “You remember? They were just married.”

            The man seemed to suddenly remember as he told her, “You’re right. They did stop for gas, weren’t here more than ten minutes.”

            “You remember anything else?” Talia inquired.

            The man shook his head, “I told them how to get back to the Interstate and they left town.”

            “Could you point us in that same direction?” Dean asked next.

            They walked out of the store a few minutes later with directions for the path the missing couple had supposedly taken out of town but something about the whole affair was giving Talia a strange feeling.  She brought this up to Dean as they were driving down the road to the Interstate. “Did you get a weird vibe from that town at all? Cause something seemed off.”

            “Yeah, they all seemed a little strange and rather unhelpful and I didn’t like that gleam in Scotty’s eyes when you introduced yourself as my wife.” He raised his eyebrow questioningly at his last word, smirking at her, and she shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably under his gaze. This was the first time that she’d been hunting with just Dean and she wasn’t sure what alias to go for so she’d just gone with her gut and picked what made the most sense.

            “I just went with the most believable lie, Dean. Plus, if we are looking for what killed a bunch of different couples, it might help us later to pretend to be a couple ourselves.” She explained hesitantly, hoping she hadn’t messed up any plans he’d had.

            “Didn’t think of that.” Dean replied looking slightly impressed, “Nice thinking there, little wolf.”

            “Don’t act so surprised. I can-” Her next words were cut off by a strange beeping noise coming from the backseat which caused Talia and Dean to look at each other in confusion.

            “What the hell?” Dean glanced at the backseat where his bag was lying in the spot that was usually taken up by Talia. He turned slightly to reach a hand back to rummage through the bag and look for the source of the noise while his left hand stayed on the wheel.

            “Dean!” Talia exclaimed, slapping his hand away, “Both hands on the wheel and keep your eyes on the road.”

            “Alright, alright.” He exclaimed as he withdrew his hand and placed it back on the wheel and gripping both hands tightly in emphasis of the fact that he was focused on driving.

            Rolling her eyes at him, Talia turned around completely in her seat to lean over into the backseat and look through his bag.  She dug through his wadded-up clothes until she withdrew his EMF meter which was going haywire and beeping crazily.  Holding it triumphantly in her hand, she sat back down in the front and showed the meter to Dean who had pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road. They looked at each other in confusion as to what could be setting it off before Talia looked around to see they were stopped at the edge of an orchard.

            “Guess we better check this place out.” Talia said before stepping out of the car.  The pair started walked between the trees looking for whatever could be setting off the EMF meter.  There was a light fog hovering between the trees giving the orchard a slightly creepy vibe as they wandered through it.

            “Hey, check that out.” Dean pointed towards a scarecrow hung up on a post in a clearing in the middle of the trees.  Talia followed him as they walked up to it and upon closer inspection she saw it was wearing a long ragged brown coat with a matching brown hat on top of a mask that looked poorly stitched together was frankly quite terrifying. Shuddering slightly, Talia averted her eyes from its face and noticed it was holding some sort of metal hook in its right hand.

            “Dude, you fugly.” Dean commented drily as he stood next to Talia, staring up at the scarecrow.

            “Dean, please don’t antagonize the creepy scarecrow.”

            At Talia’s pleading, Dean turned to face her with a smirk, “What? You’re not actually scared of this thing are you.”

            She wasn’t fazed by his mocking and she stared at him straight-faced as she pointed out. “It’s literally called a _scare_ -crow. Scare, as in its sole purpose is to cause fear. And considering we found it in a field that made your EMF light up like a Christmas tree, I feel validated in my fear.”

            “You’ve hunted every creature under the sun completely unfazed and you’re frightened by Mister ‘If I only had a brain’ over here.” Dean shook his head in disgust. “And you’re my partner on this. I feel like I should be the one that’s scared.”

            “You’ve got nothing to worried about Winchester. The nearest airport is miles away.” Talia grinned mischievously at him as she poked fun at his fear of flying, laughing lightly as she dodged away as he tried to grab her in retaliation. “What was that you just said?” She called out tauntingly as she stood across from him with the wooden cross between her and Dean as protection. “You’ve hunted every creature under the sun and you scared of-”

            She was cut off with an oomph as Dean tackled her to the ground with a growl and loomed over her, straddling her waist to keep her pinned down as he exclaimed. “You promised me you’d never bring that up again!”

            She laughed from beneath him as she clarified, “I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about it, I never said anything about not saying it to you.”

            He frowned down at her before a wide grin spread his face and he declared, “Well, irrational fears aside, at least I’m still the better hunter.”

            “Oh yeah?” Talia questioned with a raised eyebrow, “How do you figure that?”

            His face never lost his teasing grin as he leaned over her further, placing a hand on either side of her head as he told her, “I caught you, didn’t I? Therefore, I’m the better hunter.”

            Talia certainly wasn’t going to let Dean’s inflated ego get any larger without at least trying to prove him wrong and it only took her a split second for her to realize he was only loosely pinning her down, relying mainly on his weight pressing down on her hips to keep her from moving.  As this realization dawned on her, a smirk to rival Dean’s spread across her face and she only gave herself a moment to appreciate the apprehension that flared in his eyes before she moved.

            Quick as lightning, she yanked one of his arms, pulling it towards her and pinning to her chest with both hands.  She hooked her right leg around his and then, channeling all the strength that she’d built from hunting the last few months, she thrust her hips upwards, surging up as she pulled on his arm and leg. Dean lost his balance and toppled sideways while Talia let momentum carry her forward as they rolled until she was now sitting astride Dean, with her hands pinning his arms down and a triumphant smile on her face.

            Leaning down to stare directly into his eyes, she raised an eyebrow tauntingly. “I’m sorry, what was that you said about catching me?”

            Rather than be upset, Dean let out a loose laugh and she could feel the rumbling in his chest as he chuckled. She only then noticed just how close the two of them wore and she was vividly aware of every part of their bodies that was touching in the rather intimate position they were locked in. 

            Surging to her feet suddenly and releasing Dean from underneath her, Talia cursed the blood that rushed to her cheeks as she tried to put some space between them without Dean noticing.  She blamed her conversation with Sam last night for bringing up all sorts of emotions that she had been doing her best to bury far below the surface of her mind.  It took longer than usual to shove it all back down but she soon offered Dean a hand and helped pull him to his feet.

            They stood in silence looking up at the scarecrow which Talia had forgotten was there for a moment.  Focusing on the case once more, Talia wondered if it played any role in what was going on in this mysterious little town.

            “Hey, grab me that ladder over there.” Dean declared out of the blue and Talia walked over to where he’d pointed in slight confusion which only increased as he set the ladder up in front of the scarecrow and climbed up to get a closer look.  Dean reached over to move the torn sleeve of the scarecrow’s right arm and revealed a strange looking tattoo that she hadn’t noticed before and looked oddly familiar.

            Nodding in confirmation to himself, Dean crawled back down the ladder and showed the picture of the missing couple to Talia again. “Take a look at the tattoo on our missing man’s arm. Looks exactly like the one on the scarecrow.”

            “Damn, you’re right. Good eyes.” Talia commented as she compared the two markings. “Guess we better stick around town a little longer.”

 

* * *

 

            As they got back into town, Dean stopped at a gas station for fuel and Talia noticed the girl working the pumps was the same one they’d talked to in the general store earlier along with the older couple.  She listened absentmindedly from in the car as Dean made small talk with the girl, whose name was Emily apparently, as Emily started filling up the Impala.  

            Talia zoned out for a bit as she wondered what Sam was doing and how close he was to California and finding John.  Although she was still slightly bitter about the fight they’d had when he’d left, she still hoped he was okay and she knew Dean was worried about his brother although he wouldn’t admit it aloud.

            “We got a problem.” Dean announced as he shut the car door behind him. “She just told me that the town sometimes feels, and I quote, ‘blessed’ and there’s a new couple in town so we need to move fast.”

            “Shit.” Talia exclaimed at the news; their time to solve this was running out. “Alright, what’s our next move?”

            Dean peeled away from the gas station as he told her, “We gotta find that couple and convince them to head out of town. Now.”

            “Definitely.” Talia agreed, “But where in town do you think they’d be?” She pondered it for only a moment before her and Dean turned to each other and declared simultaneously:

            “Scotty’s!”

            When they finally walked into Scotty’s Café, they saw a young couple sitting at a table, being served food by Scotty who, to Talia’s pure astonishment, was smiling at them.

            “Oh hey, Scotty,” Dean called out with assumed familiarity, “Can I get a coffee, black?” He walked in front of Talia to take a seat at the table right next to where the couple was sitting and as Talia followed him she noticed that there were two pieces of pie at the couple’s table so she added:

            “Oh, and a couple slices of that pie, too, while you’re at it.” Talia sat down across from Dean who fist-bumped her in appreciation for ordering the pie and she smiled in amusement.  She leaned back in her chair and let Dean do the talking as he leaned over to strike up a conversation with the couple despite the dirty looks Scotty kept casting over at him.

            Talia avoided talking as she figured Dean was the best option to smooth-talk the couple into leaving town but no matter what he tried, they were not convinced and as they begin to look rather annoyed and concerned at his insistence, Talia pulled gently on Dean’s arm to get him to back off. They weren’t going to gain anything by frightening the couple.

            Dean sighed in frustration as he straightened up in his chair and, looking down at the table, he lamented more to himself then to the couple, “You know, my brother could give you this puppy dog look, and you’d just buy right into it.”

            Talia frowned sadly at him but then turned when the bell on the door to the café chimed to indicate someone had entered the restaurant.  A man wearing a sheriff’s uniform was standing just inside the door and Scotty immediately walked over to him and began whispering conspiratorially in his ear.  Talia groaned in annoyance. They just couldn’t catch a break from anyone in this town apparently and sure enough, the policeman walked over a moment later and demanded:

            “I’d like a word, please.”

            “Come on.” Talia insisted angrily, tired of the townspeople interfering, “we’re having a bad day already.”

            “You know what would make it worse?” The sheriff inquired sarcastically.

            Dean laid a hand on Talia’s arm and nodded in defeat to her to play along as they followed the sheriff out of the café. The man then informed the pair that they had been disturbing the peace and it was time for them to move on and leave town.  He then got into his cop car and followed the Impala to make sure they left.  Once Dean had drove them past the official city limits, Talia looked in the rearview mirror and saw the sheriff turn around to head back into town.

            “So....What’s the plan now?” Talia wondered as Dean continued to drive them away from the town.

            “The couple said their car would be done by sundown so we’ll sneak back into town just before dark to make sure they get out of town safe.” Dean explained to her.

            “Alright.” Talia agreed, “But that still doesn’t tell me what we are going to do between now and the 3 hours until sunset.”

            Dean looked thoughtful for a moment as he stared at the road in front of them before he turned to her with the corner of his mouth tilted in a smirk, “We could head to the nearest city and play pool at a bar.  Earn a little spending money.”

            “What people are gonna be at a bar at this hour?” Talia laughed as she saw Dean frown as if he hadn’t thought of that. “The next big city is miles away anyway.  I have a far better way to kill the time that won’t require any travel at all.” Talia grinned before she turned in her seat to grab her bag from the backseat and pulled out the deck of cards she had.

            The edges of the package were worn down and the cards within peeked out from the corners of the stained plastic case.  The deck had been a gift from Dean when she was eight and he’d taught her how to play poker for the first time.  She’d quickly fallen in love with card games and practiced so often in her spare time that the next time she’d seen Dean she beat him twice.  In a few years’ time, Talia had learned every card game from Blackjack to Texas Holdem and would regularly beat Dean in every one of them; a fact that he was both immensely proud of and bitterly annoyed by.

            When Talia was younger, before her Dad died, she would only see Dean and Sam every once and awhile when John would drop them off for a couple of days while he was hunting nearby.  Sometimes, Dean would still be in hunting mode after helping his dad with a case and they’d started a tradition where the very first thing Talia and Dean would do was a play a round of poker.  Neither of them would say a word until the game was over and even from a young age, when she hadn’t understood exactly what John and Dean did when she didn’t see them, Talia had understood the need for a peaceful moment where Dean could shift out of the hunting mindset.

            The same practice had continued when Dean would come to visit her while she was going to high school but she hadn’t pulled it out since he’d picked her up on his way to Stanford and she was itching to play a game or two.  Dean laughed aloud when he saw her holding the cards as he observed, “You still use that old deck? After all these years?”

            “Of course!” Talia scoffed, “Can’t get rid of my lucky deck. Now are you too scared of getting your ass handed to you or are we gonna play some cards?”  Dean rolled his eyes at her but relented and they passed the time until sunset playing cards on the hood of the Impala.

            When the waning sunlight made it too hard to read the cards, they packed it in and made their way cautiously back into town to keep an eye on the departing couple.  When they didn’t see the couple’s car anywhere in town, the pair of them immediately followed the path out of town which led past the orchard. Sure enough, they spotted the car parked alongside the rows of trees, abandoned with the hazard lights blinking ominously in the shadowy darkness of the night.

            Talia and Dean rushed into the grove of trees, searching desperately for the couple as they ran between the rows of apple trees.  Just as Talia turned into a new row, she almost ran right into the now terrified couple who were running franticly away from the now mobile scarecrow, no longer bound to the wooden cross, that was chasing after them with its curved metal scythe in hand.

            “Get back to your car!” She yelled at them as Dean ran up beside her and she saw the pair take one last glace at the scarecrow chasing them before the nodded and sprinted past her and Dean.  Turning to Dean, she cocked the shotgun she was holding as she remarked, “I told you that scarecrow was creepy.”

            “Yeah, yeah.” Dean aimed his own gun and fired at the scarecrow which stumbled for a moment at the hit but then continued stalking towards them. “Great, normal bullets aren’t working.”

            “Shit. Guess I’ll save my ‘I told you so’ moment for later.” Talia exclaimed before the two of them turn to run away, seeing the young couple a little bit ahead of them in the darkness.  Talia turned back slightly as she ran to fire at the scarecrow and a moment later, Dean did the same but although both their shots had nailed the scarecrow right in the chest, it continued moving unfazed by their bullets.

            “Go! Go!” Dean shouted as the duo caught up to the hysteric couple and he and Talia shepherded them towards where they’d parked the Impala haphazardly along the edge of the orchard.  When they finally reached the car, Talia and Dean both turned to put the Impala at their backs and aimed their guns at the orchard while the couple huddled behind them but the scarecrow was nowhere to be found.

            The man behind them panted for air as he asked incredulously, “What-what the hell was that?”

            “Don’t ask.” Talia replied grimly as she and Dean continue to stand by side and scan the trees for a hint of movement.  After a few silent moments, it became apparent that the scarecrow must have returned to its post. _Hah. It’s post._ Talia snorted to herself at the pun which made Dean look over at her questioningly but she just shook her head and declared, “I think we better get out of here while we can.”

            They drove the couple back to where their car had broken down and then it took Dean ten minutes to get it running again.  They said a brief goodbye and the couple promised Talia and Dean they wouldn’t stop again until they’d put as many miles as they could between them and this town.  Talia felt proud as she watched the couple’s car pull away, happy that she and Dean had managed to keep them safe and although they still had to deal with the killer scarecrow, she figured it wasn’t a bad start to their first hunt together.


	34. Chapter 34

            Talia wasn’t sure who was more surprised between the pair of them when Dean’s phone started ringing and Sam’s number popped up on the screen.  She exchanged a confused look with Dean and she watched him hesitate a moment before he slowly flipped open his phone and answer it.

            “What’s up?” Dean greeted simply and Talia could detect the nerves in his voice although whatever Sam replied with must have eased his anxiety cause Dean’s face immediately relaxed and it wasn’t until Dean started relaying details about the case and what he and Talia had been up to that she realized why.  She knew he’d assumed that Sam wanted to talk about the fight that had happened and Dean wasn’t excited to talk about it so discussing the case instead was a much easier path.

            Being able to only hear half the conversation, Talia struggled a bit to follow as Dean discussed how they’d saved the couple and then he mentioned the research the pair of them had done after that which had lead them to believe there might be some sort of Pagan god that was behind the animated scarecrow entity.  It had made sense with the ceremonial like nature of the killings which always involved a man and a woman and how it took place on the same week every year.

            Talia had suggested it might be some sort of ritual sacrifice for good luck and to bless the crops, considering what Emily had said about the nearby towns suffering from crop failure while this one did not.  The only thing they hadn’t figured out yet is which god they were dealing with which is what they were on their way to do.  They had found a nearby community college with a professor that dealt with mythology and they’d made an appointment to talk to him, hoping he might be able to identify which god they had to deal with and how they could kill it.

            Just as they pulled to a stop outside of said community college, Talia garnered enough from the conversation to tell that they’d moved on to finally discussing the fight between Dean and Sam so she excused herself and got out of the Impala to give Dean some privacy for what she was sure would be an uncomfortable conversation for both Winchesters.

            A short time later, Dean was outside the Impala as well but he held aloft his still opened phone to Talia and informed her, “Sam wants to talk to you.”

            Brow furrowed slightly in confusion, Talia grabbed the phone and held it up to her ear. “Uh, hey Sam. What do you need?”

            “Talia…I-uh…I’m sorry.”

            Now she was really confused. “You’re sorry?” She asked incredulously. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”

            “For everything, for the way I’ve been treating you the last couple months and how angry I was with you when I didn’t even tell you why. I should have told you as soon as I found out and given you a chance to explain.”

            Talia was slightly flabbergasted, she’d been gearing up the nerve to apologize to him and found it infinitely easier since Sam had already broken the ice. “Listen, Sam. I’m sorry too, I thought our confrontation over the packet had solved everything between us but I realized it hadn’t because I continued to refuse to admit something to myself. I only get mad at you because I’m jealous.”

            It was Sam’s turn to exclaim in disbelief, “What?”

            Talia explained further, “I think I’ve always been jealous of you, since I started living with you guys all the time.  You were older than me but you got to live the sweet life, being ignorant about hunting for such a long time, and I envied your innocence that I didn’t get to have.”

            “Talia I-” Sam started but she interrupted him.

            “No, wait, let me finish.” She took a breath before continuing, “And then you had the balls to pack up and leave your family, escape the life, and to go follow your dreams all by yourself. And I was jealous because I’m not brave enough to do that, to stand up for myself like that and I was jealous that you escaped the life because I never could but I wished I could be like you.”

            There was silence on the line and Talia waited anxiously for Sam to say something and when he finally did speak, all she heard was a brief fit of laughter.  “Are you laughing at me?” She spit out angrily, upset that he would react that way to her confession.

            Sam quickly sobered up, “No, no. It’s just, you don’t understand how ironic that is. I was always so envious of you when I was growing up.”  When all he got was Talia’s shocked silence in response he explained further, “You and Dean were always so close and it wasn’t until I found out about what my dad really did that I knew why and for the longest time I was jealous of how well you, an outsider, got along with my own brother better than I did.  You always shared this connection with him that I could never have.”

            “Sam,” Talia declared sadly, “You know that you two have a special bond that I would never try to get between. I would never want you to feel like I was trying to replace you.”

            “I know that now.” Sam replied adamantly.

            “I guess we both let childish jealously get the best of us.” Talia realized slowly, “I just didn’t know how badly it had affected our relationship so bad.”

            “Yeah, good thing we always shared a connection through Dean.” Sam responded which reminded Talia to ask:  
            “By the way, I’m assuming you too patched things up like always?” Talia not so subtly probed for information from the more forthcoming Winchester.

            “Yeah, uh, I think we did. He even wished me luck in finding our dad.” Sam admitted and he paused for a moment before adding, “I know this goes without saying but, take care of him, won’t you? He needs you now more than ever.”

            “Of course, I will. I always do.” Talia told him strongly, adding with a slightly lighter tone. “Someone’s gotta keep him in line.”  Sam chuckled lightly at this and she smiled before continuing in a serious note. “You take care of yourself too, Sam, because Dean may be the glue that keeps us connected despite our issues but I still consider you my brother. Granted you’re an annoying gargantuan one.”

            Sam laughed once more as he said, “I will. Bye, Talia.”

            “Bye, Sam.” Talia hung up the phone and finally looked up to pay attention to her surroundings to see that Dean had walked away to give her some privacy as she talked to Sam which she was grateful for.  He came back over when he saw she was done talking and she returned his phone to him with her thanks.

            “You good?” Dean asked her and there was a variety of different implications behind his words.

            “Yeah,” Talia smiled, “I’m good. You?”

            The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile, “I’m good.” He then stepped forward and gestured grandly towards the building in front of them and declared, “Now we’ve got a professor to meet about a scarecrow.”

            After talking with the professor for a while, Dean and Talia had helped narrow down to their specific topic of interest and the duo walked behind him as he led them into another room where he said there was a book that would probably have the information they were looking for.  He pulled out a large leather bound book, that was closed with a buckled strap across the front, and began leafing through the pages as he said:

            “Looking for a woods god, hm?” He continued flipping pages. “Well, let’s see.”

            “Wait a second.” Talia called out as she pointed to a drawing on the page of a scarecrow hung up on a cross, surrounded by what appeared to be farmers who were working on a field. What’s that one?”

            “Oh, that’s not a woods god, per se.” The professor informed them and when he didn’t offer any more information, Talia leaned over to read the text next to the picture.

            “The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields.” Talia felt her excitement rise as she continued to read and she also noticed Dean lean in closer to read over her shoulder. “Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female.”

            Dean pointed to the picture and looked over at Talia with a raised eyebrow as he observed, “Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?” Talia nodded excitedly, knowing this had to be what they were dealing with.

            “I suppose.” The professor agreed reluctantly from Talia’s other side and she gave a small start. She’d almost forgotten he was there.

            “This particular Vanir,” Dean questioned as he continued to read the page where Talia had stopped, “it’s energy sprung from the sacred tree?”

            “Well,” The older man explained, “Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic.”

            Talia caught on to Dean’s train of thought as she turned to ask eagerly, “So what would happen if the sacred tree was torched? You think it’d kill the god?”

            The professor laughed at her as he admonished, “Young lady, these are just legends we’re discussing.”

            Dean stepped in to cover her tracks as he forced a chuckle, “Oh, of course. She’s just so into all this Norse mythology stuff.”  He offered his hand for the professor to shake and declared, “Listen, thank you very much.”

            “Glad I could help.” The professor nodded and shook both their hands before turning to grab the book that was still lying open on the desk. Dean made his way to the door to leave and he pulled open the door to reveal the sheriff that had drove them out of town earlier, standing on the other side.  The sheriff whacked Dean in the head with the butt of his rifle which sent Dean falling backwards onto his back and knocked him out cold.

            “Son of a bitch!” Talia shouted as she took a step towards the sheriff, ready to fight her way out of the office. However, she was not prepared for the professor behind her to use the giant old book from the desk to smack her in the head as well and she barely had time to register the pain before she was out like a light as well and her body collapsed on the ground to fall next to Dean’s unconscious form.

 

* * *

 

            Talia woke up in a musty old cellar, stirring up a cloud of dust that made her cough when she sat up from the floor where she’d apparently been tossed.  She looked around frantically for a moment before she noticed Dean lying on the ground nearby, lying half in the shadows that were formed by the meager light that peaked through the gaps in the wooden door leading to who knows where.  He was still unconscious so she shrugged off her jacket and balled it up before lifting his head to shove it under as a makeshift pillow. It was the most she could do to ease his discomfort for when he woke up after lying on a cold, hard concrete floor.

            Standing up, Talia began to walk around and inspect their makeshift cell and although she noticed several worn, wooden shelves, there didn’t appear to be anything that would be useful for breaking out of this place.  She tried inspecting the planks of the door but they looked in sturdy condition and after a few test shoves, it held firm.  It was hard to get a lot of power considering the door was almost horizontal and she had to crouch down at the top of the stairs to push against it.

            Giving up, Talia resigned to wait until Dean woke up and they could both try and figure out a way to escape.  A few minutes of waiting later and she saw Dean begin to stir on the ground before he rose with a groan, rubbing the back of his head and looking around in confusion before he spotted Talia leaning against a shelf, watching him.

            “How long was I out?” Dean grumbled as he slowly rose to his feet, grabbing Talia’s jacket from the ground and tossing it back to her with his thanks.

            “I’ve only been up a couple minutes and the sun’s still up so we can’t have been out for that long.” Talia replied, indicating with her head towards the light shining through the gaps in the walls.

            Dean walked up to the door that Talia had pointed out and began shoving against it like she had earlier but it refused to budge and he quickly gave up. “Guess we’re this year’s sacrifices.” Dean declared with a sigh as he sat down next to Talia on the floor.”

            “Yeah,” Talia agreed, “Unless we find a way to destroy that scarecrow. I wish we knew where the tree was.”

            “It’s probably somewhere in the orchard with the scarecrow.  Maybe in the center.” Dean speculated.

            “What are the odds one of the townsfolk will offer up the information?” Talia joked with a weak smile.

            “Considering our current circumstances,” Dean replied, “I’m thinking the odds are slim.  Not much else to do but wait around until they come get us at sundown.”

            Talia sighed, it would be excruciatingly boring to sit there and wait for the impending doom. “They could’ve at least had the decency to leave us with-” She bolted upright and reached her hand into her jacket pocket, hoping she’d still left them in there. Giving a triumphant cry, she withdrew her deck of cards that she’d left in her jacket after they’d used them earlier.

            Dean laughed as he saw what she was holding, “You carry those around with you everywhere now?” Despite his words, he quickly moved to sit across from her and the two of them sat in a dingy cellar, keeping their minds off the bleakness of their situation with the only distraction they had available.

            Talia had no way to mark the passage of time but she figured about an hour and a half had passed when there was a noise from above them and she and Dean looked up to see the door swing open to reveal the Emily’s aunt and uncle, Scotty, and the sheriff. The latter two were aiming guns warningly down at them as the woman declared, “It’s time.”

            Standing on her feet, Talia exchanged a nervous glance with Dean, unsure of how they were going to get out of this. Dean led the way out of the cellar and when Talia emerged behind him she discovered the cellar they’d been trapped in was located just on the edge of the orchard. How convenient, she thought to herself as they were led at gunpoint into the middle of the orchard.

            Talia and Dean were then separated as they were tied, with their hands above their heads, to two adjacent trees that were about 20 feet apart. Just before she was strapped down, Talia caught a glimpse of the scarecrow on its post just one row down from where they were.  Dean’s tree was a little further ahead from her so she could just see the right side of him as he looked menacingly up at the sheriff who was checking his bindings.

            “How many people have you killed, sheriff?” Dean asked judgmentally, “How much blood is on your hands?”

            “We don’t kill them.” The sheriff replied simply and Talia scoffed from where she was tied up, rolling her eyes at the weak defense:

            “No, but you sure cover up after.” She called out mockingly, “I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?”

            The sheriff turned to glare at her but it was Emily’s aunt who responded. “Try to understand. It’s our responsibility and there’s just no other choice. There’s nobody else but you.” She only received a sharp glare in response from Talia and she added as a final explanation, “I’m sorry but the town needs to be safe. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.”

            With that, the four elderly townspeople had finished tying both Talia and Dean up and they walked away from them as they exited the orchard without looking back, leaving the two sacrifices tied up to die.

            “I hope your apple pie is freakin’ worth it!” Dean called out after the retreating figures.

            “The pie did look delicious Dean. It probably is worth it.” Talia attempted a joke but it felt flat, even to her own ears.  As the villagers went out of sight, Talia felt the seriousness of the situation hit her and she began to panic slightly as she struggled against the ropes around her wrists and called out again to Dean:

            “Please tell me you have a plan?”

            “I’m working on it.” Dean replied, “Try and work your way out of these ropes if you can.”

            The light got dimmer and dimmer and Talia felt her death getting closer as the sun creeped lower on the horizon while she struggled to rip her hands free. Unfortunately, the bindings were skintight and so far, all she’d managed to do was rub the skin off her wrists and cause a small stream of blood to run down her arms.

            “Dean, please tell me you have a plan.” Talia begged as she continued to pull on her wrists desperately. She didn’t see a way to get out of this mess but she was hoping Dean had some angle she hadn’t considered.

            “I’m working on it.” He reassured her but she could here the panic in his voice as he asked, “Can you see if he’s moving yet?”

            Talia craned her head sideways trying to look over her shoulder but she was constrained by her immobilized wrists and she told Dean, “I can’t see.” Suddenly she caught a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye and she cried out in surprise. “Shit, Dean I think it’s coming!” With renewed vigor, Talia tore at her wrists, releasing a fresh stream of blood as the rope bit further into her raw skin.

            The figure in the shadows emerged from behind Talia’s tree and she heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Sam who was soon followed by the familiar figure of Emily. Talia wasn’t sure how or why they were here but she was so happy to see them she didn’t really care.

            “Oh!” Dean exclaimed in relief when he saw Sam, “Oh, I take everything back I said. I’m so happy to see you.”

            Sam turned towards his brother’s voice and then hurried over to untie him from the tree while Emily walked towards Talia to help her free. “How did you get here?” Talia asked in confusion as she waited for Emily to finish untying her.

            “I, uh-” Sam hesitated, “I stole a car.”

            Dean laughed and declared happily, “That’s my boy!”

            “Yeah, yeah,” Talia admonished, “I’m glad you’re proud of Sam’s blossoming career in grand theft auto but let’s focus on the task at hand and freeing us, please? And keep an eye on that scarecrow, Sam. He could come alive any minute.”  She gasped in relief as she felt the tension in the ropes release and she pulled her hands free, thanking Emily, as she rose to her feet.

            Sam looked over at Talia with a perplexed look as he finally finished untying Dean, “What scarecrow?”

            Talia exchanged a concerned look with Dean who was now standing as well and then she looked over to the post where the scarecrow was hanging, only to find an empty post with the scarecrow nowhere in sight. “Alright, we need to run.” Talia announced, already on the move. “Like now.” She emphasized as no one else followed her.

            The four of them ran away from the center of the orchard and Dean told Sam all the information they’d found that they needed to find the source tree of the Vanir and burn it to kill it.

            “So, let’s find the tree and burn it.” Sam declared simply.

            “Nah,” Dean disagreed, “in the morning. Let’s just shag ass before Leather Face catches up.”

            “I agree.” Talia interjected, “We should just get the hell out of dodge.”

            The four of them continued running through the rows of trees when a bright light appeared on their right, blinding them momentarily with the sudden brightness in the shadows that had descended on the orchard.  Talia peered past the flashlight to see Emily’s aunt and uncle blocking their path and aiming a gun at them to keep them from leaving.

            The group quickly turned around to try the other direction only to find themselves surrounded by townspeople in a circle, all aiming various guns and flashlights at them and trapping them.  The four of them huddled together and Dean pulled Talia protectively between him and Sam as the drew close to each other to get as far away from the townsfolk as possible.

            “Please,” Emily begged her aunt and uncle, “Let them go.”

            “We have to do this for the town.” Her uncle told her before looking to Talia and Dean, “It’ll be over quickly, I promise.”

            “Please, this isn’t right. You can’t keep sacrificing people like this.” Emily pleaded once more.

            “Emily,” He continued, “you have to let him take them. You have to-” His words cut off as a hook emerged from his chest as the scarecrow appeared behind him and stabbed him. Emily and her aunt both screamed out and Talia gasped in shock. The scarecrow withdrew his blade and wrapped his arm around Emily’s aunt’s neck and dragged her backwards, hooking his blade into the ankle of Emily’s uncle and dragging him along as well.

            There was a mass panic as all the townspeople scattered and ran off in separate directions in their desperate attempts to get as far away from the scarecrow as possible.  The group of four didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity at freedom and they sprinted forward, only stopping when they finally broke free of the trees and stood at the edge of the orchard.  They all turned to scan the rows of trees but there wasn’t a single sign of the scarecrow and Talia figured it wasn’t going to appear considering it had already claimed its two sacrifices for the year.

 

* * *

 

            Talia stood in between Sam and Dean as they watched Emily board a bus headed to Boston.  It was the day after the incident in the orchard and their morning had been spent locating the Vanir’s tree, with Emily’s help, and setting it ablaze, thus ending its reign of terror and dooming the town and its crops.

            Emily waved at them with a smile and Talia waved back and then observed silently with the Winchesters as the bus pulled out of the station and drove off into the distance.  Talia felt a slight pang of concern for the girl, who was now completely on her own since her only living family members were now dead.  Without taking her eyes of the ever-diminishing silhouette of the bus, she asked Dean, “You think she’s going to be alright?”

            “I hope so.” Dean replied solemnly.

            “And the rest of the townspeople,” Sam inquired, “they’ll just get away with it?”

            “Well,” Talia told him, “what’s going to happen to the town will have to be punishment enough.”

            Sam huffed in agreement and the trio began walking over to the Impala and Talia could sense a tension in Dean’s shoulder that she didn’t understand until he cautiously asked Sam, “So, can I drop you off somewhere?” Then Talia understood that Dean was worried that Sam would be taking off again now that the case was over and she was surprised by what Sam said next:

            “No, I think you’re stuck with me.”

            Dean turned to his brother in shock, “What made you change your mind?”

            “I didn’t.” Sam told him, “I still wanna find Dad. And you’re still a pain in the ass.” Dean conceded this point with a nod. “But, Jess and Mom-they’re both gone. Dad is God knows where. You, me, Talia-we’re all that’s left. So, if we’re gonna see this through, we’re gonna do it together.”

            Dean pause for a moment as if processing this information and then with a straight face he declared, “Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful.” Dean placed his hand gently on Sam’s shoulder and his younger brother scoffed and hit it away which caused them both to laugh and Dean walked away with a smirk.

            “You should be kissing my ass.” Sam called to his brother, “you two were dead meat, dude.”

            “Yeah, right.” Dean argued, “I had a plan, I’d have gotten us both out.”

            “Right.” Sam stated in a tone that said he knew that was utter bullshit and the two brothers half-smiled at each other before Dean got into the car.

            Talia couldn’t contain an eye roll at the ridiculous behavior but she knew that it was a sign that the brothers’ relationship had been mended and that all was forgiven.  She’d lived with them long enough to learn that the Winchester boys had their own unique way of expressing love that wasn’t always obvious but it was just as effective.

            Happy to see the boys not fighting anymore, Talia walked past Sam to get into the back of the Impala when he grabbed her arm to stop her, calling out her name softly and forcing her to turn and face him.

            “I meant what I said earlier.” Sam told her seriously. “You and Dean are all I have and blood-related or not, you’re my little sister. You’re family.”

            Talia was shocked by Sam’s words but felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest when he called her his sister and she didn’t have words to say in response so she just listened silently as he continued.

            “I feel like the little time we spent together growing up was fighting and the best we got along was when I was in college and we only talked on the phone a couple times a year. I don’t want it to be like that anymore. Not when we have so little family left.”

            “Let’s make a deal then.” Talia suggested, “From this day forth, we shall promise to be, not better friends, but a better family.” They shook solemnly on it and then Talia pulled Sam in for a hug, feeling inspired by the moment and touched by Sam’s words.

            After a moment, they both pulled away and as Sam turned to get into the car, Talia caught a whiff of an awful smell that lingered for a moment in her nostrils. She scrunched her face in disgust as she got into the back of the car and wondered why in the hell Sam smelled faintly of rotten eggs.


	35. Chapter 35

            Talia knew the good luck couldn’t last forever. For every up there must be a down; it was just how things went, especially when you were a hunter.  But things had been going so well that she held onto the slim hope that everything would be fine and for a while, it had been.

            After she and the Winchesters had dealt with the Vanir in Indiana, the next few hunts they’d gone on had been nearly flawless, or at least as perfect as hunting can get.  She and Sam had finally figured things out and their relationship was better than it had ever been, they hadn’t had a single serious argument in weeks.  She felt like the two of them understood each other better now and the whole group dynamic was better for it.

            Talia was still working on improving her hunting skills and while her confidence in herself was lacking, she had faith that with both Winchesters by her side, she’d be fine.  In fact, she was happier than she’d been in years and the thought made her smile despite the horror movie atmosphere of her surroundings.

            A slight jostling knocked her out of her thoughts as Sam shook her shoulder to get her attention. Talia realized they’d arrived and she got out to head to the trunk of the Impala where Dean handed her and Sam each a Taser while he explained to them that he’d amped them up to a hundred thousand volts but they only had one shot with the weapons so they had to make it count.

            They were hunting a rawhead that had stolen two children and they’d tracked the creature down to an old abandoned house.  The three of them moved down the basement stairs and Talia scanned around nervously with her flashlight, looking in any shadows or corners where the monster might be hiding.

            There was a noise from a cupboard and all three of them turned towards it, approaching cautiously. Sam and Dean posted up on either side of it, aiming their guns at it in preparation before they nodded to Talia simultaneously, indicating they were ready.  The silent communication between the trio was an indication of their closeness and the improved teamwork was a recent development.

            Talia stepped forward and ripped the doors to the cupboard open, swiftly stepping back and aiming her Taser only to find the two missing children, a young boy and girl, cowering down inside with their ears covered. Sam and Dean automatically reacted and each pulled a child out of the cupboard and herded them towards the stairs.

            “Ok. Grab your sister’s hand.” Talia told the little boy as she led them forward with Sam while Dean urged them on from the back of the group. “Come, we have to get you out of here. Let’s go, let’s go.” She hurried them along as fast as she could, putting all her attention on them and trusting Dean and Sam to watch her back.

            She was at the top of the stairs with the kids behind her when she heard Sam cry out and she turned to see a hand grab his legs from beneath the stairs and knock him back down the staircase. The kids screamed and ran up to cling to Talia’s legs in fear while she and Dean both cried out Sam’s name.

            She saw Dean aim his Taser and fire it at the creature but by his frown and the lack of screams of pain she figured he’d missed.  “Sam, Talia, get them outta here!” Dean called out to them.

            Talia nodded and tossed him her gun since he’d used his. “Take this!” She turned and leaned down to push the children forward gently but as quick as she could, hearing Sam recover and follow behind her as she guided the group towards the front door of the home. She’d just stepped outside into the night air when she froze and let out gasp as the strangest feeling swept through her.

            She felt like she’d been struck by lightning while her heart stopped for a moment and the light inside her, that was her constant companion ever since her conversation with Castiel, flared up in alarm.  She didn’t know how she knew, but something inside her was telling her Dean was in trouble and she trusted her gut feeling.

            Without a word to Sam, who had emerged outside as well, she turned and sprinted back into the house, tearing down the basement stairs like a bat out of hell. The sight that greeted her when she reached the bottom of the stairs nearly made her knees fall from beneath her again. Dean was lying on the ground in a puddle of water, slumped against the wall unconscious and unmoving.

            “Dean!” Talia cried out and ran to him, falling beside him and pulling his head up from the ground to rest it in her lap.  “No, no, no.” She muttered desperately when she didn’t see his chest move at all and she pushed her fingers into his neck, searching for a pulse but finding none.  “No, don’t you do this to me.” Talia demanded as she clutched onto his jacket to pull him closer.

            “You can’t leave me.” She pleaded to Dean’s lifeless body. “What am I supposed to do without you?”  She realized she was crying when a tear rolled off her cheek and splashed into the small puddle of water that was covering much of the floor and soaking her pants, not that she cared much.  As she stared aimlessly at the moonlight reflected in the water, the image was broken up by the ripples caused by her tears and suddenly an idea came to her.

            Laying Dean down on the floor again, she knelt beside him and placed a hand flat across his forehead and her other she laid on his chest. Then she closed her eyes, and summoned the light within her, just like she had when she’d showed Castiel the memory of her graduation.  It surged willingly through her veins, almost as if it was eager to help, and she channeled it through her arms and into her hands.

            Talia had no idea what the hell she was doing but she was hoping the light would know what she wanted, as it seemed to the last time she’d done something like this.  Thankfully, she could feel it seeping into Dean’s body and she gasped when she sensed the damage that had been wreaked upon his body.  There were terrible burns throughout the tissue in his body but around his heart was the worst of it, the muscle of his heart was blackened and charred terribly. 

            The sight was so shocking that Talia cried out and her hands fell from Dean’s body but as she moved she heard a small clink of metal on metal sound.  She looked down to see her necklace had slipped from beneath her shirt and hit the metal zipper on her jacket.  Staring down at the little silver wolf that Dean had given her so many years ago, she shook herself and determinedly placed her hands down once more.  Now was not the time to be weak.

            Light surged in her veins once more but instead of a trickle, Talia pulled on the source within her and sent a river of brightness through her hands into Dean’s body.  She wasn’t sure it would work until she felt in amazement as the light surged to the areas of Dean’s body that were burnt and the tissue began healing and knitting together, good as new.  The more his body healed, the more the light began to dim and her body started to sag in exhaustion but she pushed on. She refused to stop until he was completely healed.

            When the rest of his body was healed, she focused her attention on his heart but just as she tried to channel all the light into his heart and get it beating again, she felt a searing pain and the light snapped back into her body instantly.  Gritting her teeth, Talia didn’t give up and she gripped onto Dean’s chest with her hand that was over his heart as she tugged hard on the dim ball of light left in her own chest.

            She didn’t let it escape but this time, instead of flowing easily, she had to struggle to push it through her veins and into Dean and every inch it traveled left tingling pain. Ignoring the pain, she focused on making Dean’s heart pump but after helping it fill and deflate several times, she stopped to let it continue its own only for it to stop and remain still as if there was no energy left in his body to keep it functioning on its own.

            “Dean Winchester, you are not allowed to die!” Talia shouted in frustration before taking the entire ball of light, instead of drawing from it, and shooting it into his heart.  A small part of her mind wondered if this was a suicidal move as she had no idea how exactly this light energy worked and if using it all was a good idea.  It was too late to stop now though and she was out of any other ideas.

            Bright blue light illuminated from her hand and into Dean’s chest, radiating within it and she felt a burning sensation in her hand from the searing energy.  Finally, Talia had nothing left to give and her body gave up, collapsing onto the ground with her hand still over Dean’s heart.  Drained of everything, she felt the familiar darkness of unconsciousness creeping in and she welcomed it as Dean lay unmoving as ever beside her.

            Just as she was about to pass out, she felt a solid thump beneath her hand that sent a wave of utterly astonished joy through her.  Dean’s heart beat again and then continued at a slow rhythm that was most reassuring sound she’d heard in her entire life. If Talia had the energy, she would have shouted aloud in happiness; she’d saved his life. Dean was _alive_.  That one fact comforted her as she finally stopped fighting the exhaustion pulling her down and she felt content to face whatever waited for her on the other side of the darkness.

* * *

 

            Sam wasn’t sure what to think when he walked down the basement stairs and saw both Talia and Dean collapsed on the floor, side by side.  After Talia had gone sprinting in a mad dash back into the house, he’d led the children back to the Impala and after placing them safely inside he’d kept watch on them as he waited for Talia and Dean to finish handling the rawhead.

            Minutes passed and he began to worry that something had happened when they still didn’t show so after telling the kids to stay put, he hurried back into the house to find them.  He discovered the two of them lying in a puddle of water with the corpse of the rawhead lying in the same puddle a few feet away.  Despite his confusion over the situation, he immediately rushed to Talia and his brother’s side and as he moved Talia, who was closer to him, he noticed her hand fall away from where it had been resting on Dean’s chest. 

            Once her hand moved, he stared in shock at what was left behind.  The area of Dean’s shirt, right over his heart, was burnt away in the perfect outline of a hand but the skin peeking through the hole was unblemished. He looked at the singed shirt, dumbfounded, and wondered what in the hell had happened in the few minutes he was gone and how in the hell had Talia’s hand burned a hole into Dean’s shirt.

            As if summoned by her thoughts, Talia began stirring beside him and the movement stirred Sam into action once more, reminding him of the situation before him.  He grabbed Dean’s hand and pressed his fingers into his wrist, sighing in relief when he felt a pulse beating steadily, if a bit erratically, beneath the skin.

            “Sam?” Talia’s hoarse voice questioned, “Is he…” She trailed off as if unable to finish the statement and he turned to see lying on her side with barely open eyes staring back at him.  The light was poor in the abandoned basement but there was a startling lack of energy or life behind her eyes as she stared at him.

            “He’s alive.” Sam informed her and watched her sag in relief. “What in the hell happened down here?”  There wasn’t an answer for a moment and he worried that she’d passed out again as her eyes had shut and she’d laid back down completely on the floor again but she lifted her head slowly to look at him as if the movement was all she could handle.

            “Electricity is a real bitch.” She stated as if that explained everything before resting her head back down on the floor.

            Sam wasn’t sure he could handle any more questions swimming around in his brain so he pushed them all aside and focused on dealing with what was in front of him.  Dean did not look to be in good shape and Sam began lifting him up to carry him back to the Impala. Something inside him told him that the hospital was going to be there first stop.

            “Talia, can you help me with him?” Sam grunted as he struggled to lift his brother from the ground.  He watched her slowly push herself to her feet and he furrowed his brow in concern when she teetered on her feet and almost fell over, catching the nearby wall just in time to stop herself. “You okay?”

            Talia nodded slowly but as she struggled to walk over to him, Sam hoped he wouldn’t have to carry them both out on his own.  She seemed determined to help and threw Dean’s other arm around her shoulder to help support his weight between them.  Sam then saw her eyes widen in shock as she noticed the burnt hole in Dean’s shirt and he pretended not to notice when she glanced over at him surreptitiously before quickly zipping Dean’s jacket up to cover the mark.

            They made slow progress up the stairs and Sam had to support most of Dean’s weight himself as Talia continuously stumbled and almost fell several times on their way up.  It was easier when the made it to flat ground but Sam still struggled to carry his brother while also watching to make sure Talia didn’t suddenly topple over as well.  Sam was overwhelmed with relief when they finally reached the Impala and he could lower Dean into the backseat.

            He watched Talia immediately crawl into the back as well and he didn’t comment when her body seemed to deflate once she sat down as if she used her last drop of energy to crawl into the car.  Thankfully the kids were in the front passenger seat and they were still terrified from their ordeal so they remained silent as Sam drove to the nearest hospital.

            Glancing back in the rearview mirror, he saw Talia had Dean’s head resting across her lap and she had one hand running gently through his hair while her other was lying on his chest.  She was mumbling to herself and Sam wasn’t sure she was even aware of it as her eyes were scrunched shut in concentration and he just barely caught the words, “I can’t feel…only darkness....”

            Sam’s uneasiness rose even further and in the white moonlight from the window that fell upon the pair in the backseat he noticed that both Talia and Dean’s skin was frighteningly pale and he stepped on the gas to urge the car even faster.  Speeding down the road, Sam had lots of questions but he was sure of two things: One, something had happened in that basement besides just a normal hunt gone wrong and two, Talia was hiding something.

* * *

 

 

            Talia passed out sometime on the way to the hospital and woke up to find herself lying in a white hospital bed surrounded by the smell of disinfectants, the steady beeping of a machine and bland white walls and curtains.  Slightly disoriented by her new environment, she sat up slowly and felt a slight tugging on her arm which came from an IV tube that was taped to her inner elbow which Talia figured was the reason behind why she no longer felt like she could collapse at any moment.

            Searching inside herself, Talia discovered that her inner light was once more shining within her chest although it seemed different somehow, a little dimmer perhaps, but she was glad to see it returned. While Sam had been driving them to the hospital, she tried to use it to check on Dean but it had been gone and although whatever mysterious powers it gave her were terrifying, she was surprised by just how much she hated the idea of it being gone forever.

            Regardless of what exactly the light was, Talia would forever be grateful that it gave her the power to save Dean’s life.  Talia’s next thought was that she had to see Dean and make sure for herself that he was okay because she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she was sure he was completely healed. 

            As a feeling of anxiety settled on her, Talia ripped the IV from her arm with a slight wince and then threw the covers off her bed to stand up.  A wave of dizziness struck her as she stood and she stopped to steady herself for a moment until it passed.  After that, the only lingering effects she could feel from her exertion was a slight stiffness and soreness in her muscles.

            Talia slowly cracked open the door to her room and peaked down the hallway, checking that it was clear before she slipped out of her room. Standing in the vacant hallway, she was debating which direction to head down, unsure of where to go, when there was a familiar tugging in her chest.  Confused, but willing to trust the light, she followed its prodding to the left and as she turned the corner she spotted Sam talking to a pair of cops next to a nurse’s station.

            Talia ducked back around the corner out of sight to wait until the cops left before she approached Sam but as she was walking down the corner, a voice called out, “Ma’am you’re not supposed to be out of bed.” Talia winced, realized that her hospital gown garb clearly distinguished her as a patient.

            Sam had turned at the sound of the voice and his hastened towards her with a surprised smile on his face when he saw her. “Talia!” He pulled her into his arms and Talia sighed into the embrace, unaware until then of the nagging fear she’d had that the Winchesters had abandoned her in a hospital again.

            Brisk footsteps approached and Talia and Sam turned to see a middle-aged doctor approaching them with a look of exasperation.  Sam immediately let go of Talia and she could sense the tension as he inquired, “Hey, Doc. Is he…” Sam trailed off uneasily and Talia didn’t understand what was going on, or who they were talking about.

            “He’s resting.” The doctor responded with practiced reassurance before turning to Talia and adding more sternly, “As should you be.”

            Talia crossed her arms defiantly, “I’m completely fine. Fit as a fiddle.”

            “You’re lucky to even be on your feet right now with how close to the brink you were.” The doctor scolded her. “When you’re brother here brought you in, we almost declared you DOA.”

            “What?” Talia’s jaw dropped in shock.

            “It means, dead on arrival.” Sam explained to her.

            “I know what it means, but that can’t be possible. I was just a little tired.” Talia argued to Sam but it was the doctor who answered.

            “You were severely dehydrated and malnourished to the point where I’m not sure where your body was getting the energy to function.” The doctor gave her a pointed stare, “You were like a car that ran out of fuel but managed to coast into a gas station.”

            The car analogy made Talia snort lightly in amusement and then made her think of Dean and she wondered where he was if he wasn’t here with Sam.  Turning to ask the younger Winchester she questioned, “Hey, where’s Dean at, by the way?”

            Sam’s face dropped at the question, “He, uh…he got hurt pretty bad, Talia.”

            “That’s not possible! He should be fine after I-” Talia caught herself before she said anything more incriminating and then turned to the doctor to demand, “What’s wrong with him?”

            “The electrocution triggered a heart attack.” The doctor replied simply in a practice tone that was used to delivering bad news. “Pretty massive, I’m afraid. His heart…it’s damaged.”

            “How damaged?” Talia asked through the disbelief that was stunning her.

            “We’ve done all we can.” He replied apologetically. “We can try and keep him comfortable at this point. But, I’d give him a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month.”

            Talia stood perfectly still, feeling like every ounce of blood had drained from her body as she stared forward unseeingly while the doctor’s words pounded incessantly in her head. She couldn’t believe it, she wouldn’t believe it, not until she’d seen him with her own eyes, seen the truth for herself.

            Talia walked away from Sam who was pleading with the doctor, begging him to say there was some treatment or procedure but his words drifted away in the buzzing that overtook her ears.  Without being told where to go, Talia walked a little further down the hall until she stood in front of a door which she was positive led into Dean’s room thanks to the pulsating pull of her light which could only being leading her to one thing. Talia allowed herself a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steel herself for whatever was on the other side of the metal door before she pushed it open forcibly and stepped into the room.

            There were three things that were very wrong with the sight in front of her:

            One, Dean was in a hospital bed, decked out in a hospital gown that matched her own and with several more tubes and wires attached to him.  It was a scenario that Talia never even imagined in her worse nightmares. Dean didn’t belong in a hospital.

            Two, Dean looked like he did belong there with skin that was frighteningly pale and dark bruised bags around his eyes that looked sunken into his head. Although he slept peacefully, Talia had never seen her best friend looking so incredibly fragile and the sight gave her an overwhelming feeling of wrongness.

            The third and final thing that was most off about this situation, left Talia equally stunned and perplexed as she finally realized something.  Her inner light had never been leading her to Dean exactly, as she had thought, it had been pointing her back to itself or rather, a piece of it.  For as she looked at Dean, she could see with her inner eye just as clearly as she saw the green of his hospital gown, a small familiar glow from a ball of light that was stuck just in the middle of heart.

            Talia immediately recognized it as a piece of the same light that resided in her but in case she needed further help, there was a faint glowing outline of her hand from where it rested on Dean’s heart.  She figured a piece of the light must have broken off during her attempted healing and stayed inside Dean when she’d overexerted herself but she had no idea what this might mean or how it would affect him.  It would also explain why her light felt different now.

            For now, she shoved those questions aside and walked closer to his bedside to answer the question that had dragged her here so urgently.  Resting her hand once more over his heart, Talia sent a small shaft of light out, which was much easier to do now, searching through Dean’s body to find out what was wrong with him.  In her mind’s eye, she saw the light handprint on his heart that she’d left, helping his heart beat along but the rhythm wasn’t quite right and sure enough, the tissue of his heart was burned badly.

            Talia wanted to try and heal him again but just scanning his body had left her dizzy and the light refused to respond to her attempts, no matter how hard she tried.  Talia felt her frustration mount, what good was the weird light if it wouldn’t let her save the people she cared most about.  She felt weak and helpless and her head fell limply onto the bed as she realized that she had failed after all and despite her best efforts, Dean was still dying and she wasn’t strong enough to do anything about it anymore.

            She wasn’t sure how long she’d been lying like that before Sam stepped into the room and called her name softly.  Lifting her head, she watched Sam stare at his brother in shock before he glanced over and met her gaze and Talia saw the same haunted looked in his eyes that she felt.  As the two of them silently shared a moment of grief over the situation at hand, Talia felt something harden within her and a new feeling surged in her veins: determination.  She was not going to give up on Dean so easily because he deserved better than that for all he’d done for not only her, but his own family as well.

            “Sam, we can’t give up hope yet.” Talia declared as she stood up to walk closer to the younger Winchester.  “We live in a world of the paranormal and inexplicable occurrences and there has to be some way we can fix this. We have to find a way.”

            As she spoke, she saw a glint of determination rise in Sam as well. “You’re right. We can do this. We’ll find something to save Dean.”

            Talia nodded and for a moment the task seemed daunting but if something like her own abilities of healing existed, there had to be something more powerful that would be able to save Dean’s life where she had failed.  So, she took a deep breath and shoved down the tears that had been threatening to fall along with the writhing mass of emotions that would overwhelm her if she let it.

            By her side, Talia could sense that Sam was employing a similar process and once they’d both gained composure they decided that Sam would stay in Dean’s room to keep an eye on him and do some research on his laptop.  Meanwhile Talia went to change into some regular clothes and get herself checked out of the hospital so she and Sam could focus all their efforts on doing research.

            Sam was already typing away with a fury as Talia glanced once more at Dean’s slumbering figure before she exited the room and she had faith that if there was a way, Sam would find it.  However, Talia also made a silent promise to herself that if in two weeks they hadn’t found a way to save Dean, then she would try and heal him again herself. And this time, she wouldn’t stop until she’d given all the energy she had.


	36. Chapter 36

            It took an hour for Talia to convince the doctor at the hospital that she was fine so he would give her the paperwork for checking herself out of the hospital.  She’d ended up needing Sam’s help with everything as she hadn’t been conscious when he’d brought her in so she didn’t know what names he’d put down for the insurance.  It was a rather exhausting process and by the end, Talia was more than ready to leave and never return.  She had never liked hospitals and after her last experience in one she’d developed an almost paranoia of them and she hated to be in them at all.

            Sam seemed to sense her nervousness as he suggested that they go check up on Dean one more time to see if he was awake and then go back to the motel room he booked to do some research.  Talia quickly agreed with the plan and the two of them entered Dean’s room to find him awake and reclined in his bed surfing through television channels.  He didn’t look up to acknowledge their entrance but instead declared in a voice as weak as his appearance:

            “Have you guys ever actually watched daytime TV? It’s terrible.” He looked just as bad as before and it was equally heartbreaking to see a second time as Talia tried her best to keep her emotions in check.

            Sam shook his head at his brother’s obvious attempt at deflection and sighed before telling him, “I talked to your Doctor.”  

            Talia could hear the exhaustion and fear in Sam’s voice and she knew he was just as impacted as she was by the scene in front of them; somehow it was worse now that Dean was awake.  She noticed that Dean continued to stare resolutely at the screen in front of him as if by avoiding eye contact he could avoid the uncomfortable truth of his predicament.

            “That fabric softener teddy bear.” Dean continued as if Sam hadn’t spoken, “Oh, I’m gonna hunt that little bitch down.”

            “Dean.” Talia breathed out his name and a bit of the pain she felt leaked into her voice.  She felt Sam wrap a consoling arm around her and she leaned into him slightly as they drew strength from each other.

            Dean finally looked up at Talia’s voice the look on her face must have been enough to get him to turn off the TV and pay full attention to them.  He sounded resigned as he announced, “All right, well, looks like you two are gonna leave town without me.”

            Talia was too shocked at this statement to come up with a reply but Sam’s stunned response summed up her own reaction perfectly. “What are you talking about? We are not going to leave you here.”

            Dean’s face remained completely serious as he once more pretended like Sam’s protests didn’t exist. “Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I’ll haunt your ass. And Talia, this still doesn’t mean you ever get to drive it.”

             “I don’t think that’s funny.” Talia admonished.

            “Oh, come on, it’s a little funny.” Dean replied with the slightest hint of a grin on his face. He was trying to make light of a serious situation and cracking jokes to avoid any emotional conversations just like he always did and watching him trying to pretend like everything was okay was nearly Talia’s undoing.  She inhaled sharply and looked down, fighting hard to keep tears from falling, not wanting Dean to see her break down.

            Dean sighed into the awkward silence that fell for a moment. “Look, what can I say, guys, it’s a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw and that’s it, end of story.”

            “Don’t talk like that, alright?” Sam argued with his brother, “We still have options.”

            “Yeah, burial or cremation.” Dean rebutted, “And I know it’s not easy, but I’m gonna die. And you can’t stop it.”

            Talia felt a pang at his words and realized that Dean wasn’t completely right. She could have stopped it, she could have saved him but she’d failed and now he was going to die. Anger rose inside her in the face of Dean’s acceptance, it was her fault that he was here and she was not going to let him lie there and pretend to be okay with dying.  So, she stood tall and snapped back, “Watch us.” She spun and stalked out of the room, successfully pushing down her sadness and locking it away; being emotional was not going to save Dean’s life.

 

* * *

 

             Three days later, Talia and Sam were sitting at the table in their motel room researching anything under the sun that might be helpful.  Talia had a bunch of different papers spread out before her on heart health and care that she’d been focusing on while Sam was on his laptop browsing for more supernatural angles. Talia set down the paper she’d been reading about various heart healthy food options, knowing that Dean wouldn’t eat half the things that were listed and rubbed her temples tiredly.

            The two of them had been researching since the moment they left the hospital; they hadn’t slept in days and it was beginning to wear on them.  Looking over, Talia noticed Sam had his phone out and was staring at it thoughtfully while he scrolled down to John’s name in his contacts.  Taking the initiative, she stood up and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, “I’m gonna head outside for a bit, okay?”

            Sam nodded at her and she walked outside, grateful for the excuse to get some fresh air and give her mind a bit of a break from all the research.  She wandered about aimlessly for a bit until she spotted a vending machine in the parking lot nearby and she figured that her and Sam could use a little snack food to keep them going.  She was crossing the street towards it when her cellphone began ringing in her pocket.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey little wolf, I’m in a bit of a predicament.”

            Talia sighed, “Dean, you’re in a hospital. Not even you could possible get into that much trouble in a freaking hospital.” She paused for a second in thought, “Scratch that, you definitely could. What did you do?”

            Dean quickly defended himself, “Nothing yet! I just need your help in a few minutes. I can’t stay here any longer, this place is killing me.”

            Talia knew she wouldn’t be able to dissuade him so she relented and asked, “What do you need me to do?”

            “Just grab some clothes from my bag and bring them to me. I’m not gonna be able to get very far in this ridiculous hospital gown.” Dean informed and then added, “And don’t tell Sam either.”

            “Okay,” Talia turned around and headed back towards the motel room, “I’ll be there in 15.”  She hung up the phone and slipped back in to find Sam still sitting at the table, looking as if he hadn’t moved since she left as he stared at his laptop while his phone lay on the table.  He began typing on his laptop as she walked in and she didn’t say anything as she headed towards where Sam had thrown all their bags.

            She pulled Dean’s out and, keeping a wary eye on Sam lest he look over and question what she was doing, opened it to grab some clothes he could wear after his daring escape from the hospital.  She was amused but unsurprised to find that his bag was completely disorganized and clothes had just been stuffed in haphazardly.  She hurriedly grabbed a few different shirts, a pair of jeans, boxers, socks and boots as she mentally ran through of checklist trying to make sure she had everything he would need.

            She stuffed the large pile of clothing into her own duffle bag that bulged slightly with all the extra stuff.  She was about to zip both bags close when she noticed a familiar worn black sleeve peeking through the clothing in Dean’s bag. She rationalized that Dean had basically given her permission to look in his bag when she pulled on the sleeve to reveal an old black sweatshirt.

            Talia couldn’t believe he kept it after all these years and she stared at the article of clothing in shock; she’d given it to Dean for his 15th birthday.  She remembered with amusement how she’d worked hard to save money for months and then she’d snuck away by herself to find it.  It had taken her a couple hours to finally find a store that sold what she was looking for: a black sweatshirt with the Batman logo on it.  She hadn’t known what size Dean was and to a young Talia, he had seemed to be so much bigger than her and she’d ended up buying the size that was far too large.

            The cashier had laughed at the small girl holding desperately onto a sweatshirt that was twice as big as she was but he’d very seriously taken the crumpled money that Talia had given him with a sense of pride that she’d managed to earn it all honestly.  She’d excitedly told him it was a birthday present for her best friend who loved Batman and he’d pulled out some leftover Christmas wrapping paper to wrap it for her.  Talia remembered how tightly she’d clutched the red and green package the whole way back.

            Examining the sweatshirt now, Talia could see that the yellow logo had worn completely off and there was a hole in one of the sleeves but at least it looked like it would actually fit Dean now.  Although, he hadn’t let that stop him before and had worn it dutifully as soon as she’d given it to him even though he was practically drowning in it at the time.  Smiling at the sweatshirt, Talia threw it in to her bag as well, it had brought up fond memories and she figured if it had lasted all these years it might bring some happiness or good luck.

            Zipping both bags closed, Talia slung her own bag around her shoulder and then turned to leave, surprised that Sam hadn’t once asked what she was doing over at her bag for so long.  She turned around to find him sitting at the table, once more holding his phone but still looking unsure.  Talia walked over to him and encouraged him, “Sam, you should call him.  He needs to know and he’ll be able to help.”

            Sam looked up at her, startled, as though he’d forgotten she was there but then he inhaled deeply as if steeling himself and hit dial on his phone.  Talia continued her way outside as Sam waited to see if John would answer this time but she stopped when he looked at her questioningly.

            “I’m going to give you some privacy.” She explained and then pointed at her bag, “And do some laundry while I’m at it.”  The lie rolled off her tongue smoothly.

            Exactly 15 minutes after she’d talked to Dean, Talia was walking down the first-floor hallway of the hospital, on her way to the stairs to Dean’s room when she was suddenly yanked sideways into a closet.  The door was quickly closed behind her, swamping her in darkness and she instinctively drew the knife from her boot and pressed it against the person whose chest she’d been pulled against.

            “Talia, it’s me!” Dean whispered to her and instantly let her go to back away from the blade.

            “Jesus, Dean.” Talia complained, “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” She winced after she spoke, realizing what she’d just said and hurriedly moved on to business. “I brought you some clothes to change into.” She fumbled for her bag but couldn’t see anything in the lightless closet so she gave up and instead searched for the light switch however all her fingers found were the fabric of Dean’s hospital gown but she just shoved him aside to run her hands along the wall. “Why exactly are you hiding in a freaking utility closet by the way?”

            “The nurse from hell has been chasing after me and I just now got away.”

            Talia finally found the switch and flicked it on.  Light illuminated the small custodial closet just as she raised an eyebrow at Dean in amusement although she managed to refrain from commenting.  She handed her entire bag to Dean and told him to get changed while she kept watch outside in case the infamous nurse came around.  A couple minutes later, Dean emerged and to Talia’s surprise he was wearing the black sweatshirt and she stared at him in surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him in a hoodie and she snickered when she saw his hair was sticking up every which way.

            “By the way, I can’t believe you still have that sweatshirt.”  Not thinking twice, she reached up to run her hands through his hair a couple times and smoothed down his wayward blonde locks as best she could. She gave him another quick once over to make sure he was presentable and she noted sadly that wearing his own clothes didn’t make Dean look any less sick but she forced a smile on her face and joked, “Looking pretty good there, Batman.”

            Dean looked down at the hoodie he was wearing, as if remembering where the old logo used to be and then smirked, “Guess I finally grew into my suit, huh?”

            “Oh, shut up.” Talia protested, “I was like nine! How was I supposed to know what size shirt you were? You were like a giant compared to me so I got a giant-sized hoodie.”

            Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulder to lean down on her as they walked down the hallway, emphasizing his taller stature. “I’m pretty sure I’m still a giant compared to you.” 

            Talia was going to shove him aside playfully but then she noticed Dean stumble occasionally and realized that despite the brave face and the jokes, he was struggling to walk unsupported.  So instead, she leaned into him further and wrapped her own arm around him to let him lean on her as they walked.  “With this fuzzy sweatshirt on, you’re more like Bigfoot than Batman.” Talia was weary from lack of sleep and the fabric of the hoodie that brushed against the side of her face was comforting.

            It took twice as long for the two of them to walk back to the motel and several times, Dean tried to break away and walk on his own but she resolutely kept her arm firmly wrapped around his waist.  Talia’s mind was grateful for the break from all the research she’d been doing as she and Dean walked steadily onwards in a comfortable silence, taking a small moment to pretend like everything was just fine.

            Sam was a little uneasy when they returned to the motel and he saw Dean in the doorway but he soon accepted that the hospital could do nothing more for Dean and he couldn’t force his brother to go back. He did however give Talia a look and say, “Going to do laundry, huh? I should have known better.”

            Talia shrugged her shoulders with a guilty look on her face, “I couldn’t very well let the man run all the way here in only his hospital gown.  Imagine all the traumatized bystanders.” She guided Dean, who had started leaning more heavily on her, she could tell the walk had been harder on him then he let on, into a chair.

            “We’ve been looking for a way to help you.” Sam explained to his brother when Dean commented on the mess of papers on the table. “We called every contact in Dad’s journal too.” Sam turned to Talia as if just remembering something. “One of Dad’s friends, Joshua, just called me back. He told me about a guy in Nebraska, a specialist.”

            Talia immediately perked up at the news, it was the first call back they’d received but Dean was less excited and complained halfheartedly, “You’re not gonna let me die in peace, are you?”

            Sam turned to his brother and declared vehemently, “We’re not going to let you die, period. We’re going.”

* * *

 

            Talia woke up just as they arrived at their destination.  Her body was still exhausted from healing Dean and so she’d stretched across the backseat for a nap, using a jacket proffered by Dean for a pillow.  Sitting up with a yawn, she felt much better and more energized and looked out the window to take in their surroundings.

            It was raining out and the puddles had gathered along the gravel road they drove along as Sam steered the Impala towards a large white circus tent that was set up in the middle of the field.  The parking lot had at one point been dirt but the rain had transformed it into a muddy deathtrap and Talia watched as various people of varying ages traversed the dangerous ground.  Many of the people she saw heading towards the tent required assistance to walk and she was slightly surprised by the amount of people.

            As they parked, Talia noticed a large sign set up next to the entrance of the tent that read ‘The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle’ and she tried to quell the doubt she felt creeping in, this had to work.  As soon as the car came to a standstill, Sam rushed around the front of it to try and help Dean as his older brother grimaced slightly while he used the roof of the car to pull himself up.

            Dean immediately shoved his brother away angrily, refusing his help. “I got it.” After Sam backed off a bit, Dean turned to Talia and asserted morosely, “Man, you are a lying bastard. I though you said we were going to see a doctor.”

            Sam stepped in to defend her, declaring, “Technically, I believe she said a specialist.”

            Dean just continued to glare at Talia who simply stared back at him unabashedly. She knew that Dean wasn’t going to take this well but she’d have said whatever lie it took to get him into the Impala, this was their last shot at saving him. “Look Dean, this guy’s supposed to be the real deal. Besides,” She added persuasively, “what’s the harm in trying?”

            Dean grumbled but Talia could see him giving in as he saw that neither her nor Sam were going to let up on this.  They finally started walking towards the tent and Talia was watching Dean’s painfully slow progress forwards from behind him as he refused any help.  Realizing she still had his coat in her hands, she came up with a quick plan and pulled Dean to a halt.

            “You probably want this back, since it’s cold and rainy out.” She offered his coat back to him and he took it wordlessly, pulling it on over his hoodie.  As soon as he finished, Talia started to lead the way to the tent, crossing her arms across her chest as if to ward off the cold and hunching over with her head bowed to block out the falling rain.  She was only wearing a light jacket and she purposefully left the hood down so her head was quickly soaked.

            “Hey, Talia, wait up.” She heard Dean call out and she turned, shivering for added effect, “Don’t you need a coat too?”

            Talia looked down at her own apparel as if just realizing she wasn’t dressed for the weather before she shrugged and then walked closer to Dean. “I don’t want to go all the way back to the car.” She explained as if it was the most logical thing, “I’ll just steal half of yours.”  Before Dean could question her, she pulled his left arm out of the sleeve of his jacket and then draped it around her shoulders while wrapping her right arm around his waist. Under the pretense of using his jacket for protection from the weather, she could now stick right by his side and help support him as he walked.

            “What are you doing?” Dean looked down at her in surprise, but she simply smiled up at him innocently and asked:

            “Shall we get going?” Dean huffed and narrowed his eyes at her but whether he had perceived her ploy or not, he said nothing and the two of them started forward.  Talia shot a sly wink at Sam as they passed him and he had to disguise a laugh with a cough which made Talia grin even wider although she quickly turned her face into Dean’s side so he wouldn’t notice.  They moved much quicker now that Talia was supporting Dean and although she’d been mainly pretending to be miserable, she was grateful for the warmth that radiated from Dean as she hugged his side.

            “I can’t believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent.” Dean protested again but Talia could detect that resignation in his voice.

            A passing elderly woman overheard his comment and replied without stopping, “Reverend LeGrange is a great man.”

            “Yeah, that’s nice.” Dean commented dryly.

            They were almost into the tent when they passed an angry man who was proclaiming that the Reverend was a fraud who was milking people for their money.  A cop was opposite the man and ordered him to quiet down as he led the protester away from the tent and the crowds of people flocking to it.

            Dean raised an eyebrow down at Talia, “I take it he’s not part of the flock.”

            “Well,” Talia argued, “when people see something they can’t explain, there’s controversy.”

            Dean wasn’t convinced. “I mean, come on, little wolf, a faith healer?”

            “You know, maybe it’s time to have a little faith, Dean.” Talia replied simply, staring up at him.

            Dean scoffed and looked forward again, taking a moment before responding. “You know what I’ve got faith in? Reality. Knowing what’s really going on.”

            “How can you be a skeptic?” Sam asked in disbelief, “With the things we see everyday?”

            “Exactly.” Dean declared “We see them, we know they’re real and they’re monsters, so we kill them.”

            Talia felt her ire rise and part of her knew this had become about more than just the abilities of this Reverend LeGrange as she argued. “Not everything with supernatural abilities is a monster, Dean.” When he refused to look at her, she pulled away to stand in front of him and force him to confront her. “I know there’s evil out there, but how can you not believe that good is out there, too?”

            “Because I’ve seen what evil does to good people.” Dean declared somberly. “And I’ve yet to see something supernatural that hasn’t hurt people with its powers.”

            Talia and Dean stared angrily at each other but she couldn’t find the words to express all the tumultuous emotions she felt but a part of her was terrified at what he was saying and how he would react if he ever found out about whatever she was.  Yet an even more paralyzing thought then that caused Talia to swivel swiftly around and march forward to hide the tears that stung her eyes.  She mumbled out a hasty ‘excuse me’ when she bumped into a young woman holding an umbrella, who Talia heard start a conversation with the Winchesters as she walked further away.

            What if Dean was right? She hadn’t really thought much about the source of her powers or why she could do all these things but she’d always assumed the light was a blessing of some sorts that would make her stronger and a better hunter. But what if she was just a monster? Maybe that’s why she hadn’t been able to save Dean with her powers, because she was only meant to hurt people, not save them.

            For what seemed like the umpteenth time, Talia forced herself to bottle all these emotions up. Now was not the time to deal with this although she knew the dilemma would have to be addressed soon. She couldn’t hide the truth forever and if she really was a monster, she’d have to decide whether to leave the Winchesters and run or accept that fact that she was a monster and that she deserved to die because she feared that’s what would happen if Dean ever found out.

            Absentmindedly, Talia entered the white tent and found a seat among the rows of people; she didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings as she sat, too lost in her own thoughts to care about the people around her.  She wondered if Sam and Dean would find her in the crowd and she was about to turn her head around to see if they’d made it into the tent yet when she realized she no longer had to.

            She knew Dean had entered the tent because the light within her perked up and she could sense the missing piece of light that was trapped within his own chest.  A dawning realization hit her as she felt Dean walking closer. If she was a monster, then what had she done to Dean by accidentally leaving a part of her light within him.

* * *

 

            Sam walked behind his brother as Dean angrily stomped down the middle aisle beneath the tent, struggling slightly to walk now that Talia was no longer lending him support.  Sam tried several times to help but Dean shook him off with an angry scowl.  Sam sighed internally wishing that Dean would let him help but knowing that unless he had a clever ploy like Talia had pulled earlier, then there was no way he was getting his brother to outright accept his help. Although Sam had a feeling that Dean had known what she was up to but had simply chosen not to say anything to her which Sam found both amusing and infuriating.

            Dean was especially mad after his and Talia’s argument which Sam was still trying to figure out.  What had started as Dean’s usual grumbling and complaining had evolved into something much more and Sam had been surprised by how heated it had gotten. Talia and Dean didn’t often argue and when they did, it was usually kept light-hearted and they both got over it very quickly.  This time however, Sam had seen a strange emotion in Talia’s eyes and based on the subject of the argument, he was beginning to get an idea of what had gotten her so upset.

            Sam stopped Dean from grabbing a pair of seats in the very back and managed to push him forward to another empty pair that was only a row back from the front and right behind the woman that they’d talked to just outside the tent, Layla, and her mother.  As they got closer to the seats, Sam realized that Talia was sitting right next to the empty seats which would probably explain why they were still available.

            He noticed tension in her shoulders and decided to let her have some space and sit between her and Dean but he internally reminded himself to get her alone for a moment so he could talk to her. Between whatever had happened in the basement when Dean got hurt, the burnt handprint in Dean’s shirt and the argument with Dean, Sam was starting to worry about her and he had several suspicions but he was going to give her a chance to explain herself before he brought it up to Dean as well; he owed her that much.


	37. Chapter 37

            As soon as the old blind man that must be Revered LeGrange stood behind the lectern and began preaching about God and how he had gifted the man with his powers, Talia started tuning his words out and instead began scanning the surroundings curiously.  She had no interest in what this man was saying, she only cared if he could heal Dean and the man was blind so it wasn’t like he could see her not paying attention.

            The reverend was standing on a slightly raised platform that had a wooden table along the back of the stage that was filled with various religious items and symbols.  A wooden cross that was topped with a smaller cross in a circle drew Talia’s interest as she didn’t recognize it was one of the usual symbols of Christianity.  There were also a few tall candelabras set up across the stage as well although Talia thought they might pose quite the fire hazard.

            Talia overheard Dean whisper, “Yeah, and into their wallets.” It was a low, snide comment to Sam but the preacher must have overheard as he suddenly halted his speech and called out:

            “You think so, young man?” The crowd immediately fell silent and Talia saw them all staring judgingly at Dean who had the decency to look chagrined as he quickly made a hasty apology.

            “No, no. Don’t be.” Reverend LeGrange responded cheerily, “Just watch what you say around a blind man, we’ve got real sharp ears.” Laughter rang out and Talia smirked, appreciating the man’s sense of humor. When silence fell again, the man asked, “What’s your name, son?”

            Dean seemed nervous under all the attention and cleared his throat before speaking and announcing his name.  The reverend repeated Dean’s name and Talia felt his gaze turn towards her, which made no sense for a blind man, but she could have sworn he was looking straight at her.  She froze in her chair as he seemed to look between her and Dean, his brow furrowed slightly in confusion, before he focused back on Dean and gestured him up with his hand. “I want you to come up here with me.”

            The crowd began clapping supportively but Talia saw Dean shake his head. “No, it’s okay.”

            She leaned over to glare at him and whisper heatedly, “What are you doing?!”

            “You’ve come here to be healed, haven’t you?”

            “Well, yeah, but ah…” Dean continued to hesitate while the crowd around them continued clapping and cheering encouragingly, “maybe you should just pick someone else.”

            “Oh, no. I didn’t pick you, Dean, the Lord did.” The reverend replied simply yet still, Talia watched as Dean remained seated, refusing to walk up to the stage and she felt her patience snap as she leaned across Sam to whisper:

            “Dean Winchester, I swear. If you do not move your ass right now I will forcibly carry you to that stage.” She glared at him, refusing to allow him to let this opportunity slip through his fingers but he just narrowed his eyes at her stubbornly and it wasn’t until Sam pushed him lightly with an excited encouragement that Dean finally, reluctantly stood up and walked to the front.

            The reverend’s wife moved to center stage to help Dean up the couple of stairs and then stood Dean next to her husband.  As Dean turned to face the crowd, Talia saw him shoot an unsure look in her and Sam’s direction before he said something to the reverend that she couldn’t hear and the two had a brief conversation before the reverend turned to the crowd and lifted both hands up as he called out, “Pray with me, friends.”

            Talia slid to the edge of her seat, hands clenched tightly into fists as she watched the whole thing in nervous anticipation, hoping that this would work.  She watched the man put his hand against the side of Dean’s head and then appeared to repeat something to himself a few times.  She averted her eyes from him and focused slowly on Dean as he seemed to grow weaker and teetered back and forth on his feet until, a moment later, he collapsed onto his knees as his eyes glazed over. Immediately, something felt off and Talia realized her light, and the piece in Dean, was flaring brightly and she shot out of her seat and would have rushed to the stage but for Sam’s restraining hand, pulling her backwards and pleading for her to wait.

            Talia obeyed his request until she saw Dean’s eyes roll back into his head and he slipped down onto the stage floor.  She yanked free from Sam’s grip and darted past him, calling out Dean’s name over the raucous cheering of the crowd and all she could think as she rushed up to the stage where Dean’s unconscious form lay, was _not again_. Her light was flitting about spastically in her chest and it terrified her as she quickly grabbed the front of Dean’s hoodie and shook him violently, her fear making her motions erratic.

            Dean eyes burst open as his head lifted from the floor with a gasp and Talia went limp with relief, she wasn’t sure her own heart could handle any more episodes like this.  Dean blinked groggily and Talia felt the light settle down in her chest and cease its movement and she clutched onto the fabric of Dean’s sweatshirt to ground herself.  Suddenly, she heard Dean let out a gasp in shock as he stared at something past her and she turned just in time to see the image of a tall man in a black suit with white hair and extremely pale, wrinkled skin standing just behind the reverend.

            Talia’s eyes widened in shock as the visage whose eyes had been focused on Dean, turn slightly to look at her and she got the faint impression of surprise from it although its features didn’t change. It turned and vanished and the whole event couldn’t have happened in more than a couple seconds but it left her shell shocked and she wondered what in the hell that thing could possibly have been.

            Sam made it to the scene and crouched down beside her. “Dean, are you okay?” Talia watched Dean absentmindedly nod before seeming to shake off his shock and she was curious to know why he’d seen the same man she had and a part of her feared this was a result of what she’d done to him. 

            These worries plagued her as she and Sam helped Dean, who for once didn’t protest, to his feet and Reverend LeGrange assured them that Dean was now perfectly healthy but Talia and Sam both agreed that they should return to a hospital to make sure. On the way back, Talia did notice that Dean seemed stronger, although he something seemed a little off about him. 

            They got the hospital to do a scan of his heart but they had to wait until the next morning to get the results so they returned to the motel for an anxious night of waiting.  Talia could barely sleep, she was so nervous to find out if Dean was finally okay and as they drove back to the hospital in the morning she was completely on edge.

            Talia paced back and forth in the room as they waited for the doctor and she could feel Sam’s eyes on her as she moved but she needed to vent her nervous energy somehow. She paused for a moment to look at an anatomy chart on the wall before swiveling to face Dean who was sitting on the patient’s table. “So, you really feel okay?” She asked for what must have been the hundredth time.

            Dean was staring down at the ground bleakly as he reassured her that he was feeling fine but she kept wondering what was wrong with him; he was still acting weird.  Before she could try and pester him again, the doctor, a middle-aged woman with short black hair, walked in holding a clipboard and the trio all turned to face her in anticipation.

            She looked down at the paperwork to confirm before announcing, “Well, according to all your tests, there’s nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was. Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but, still it’s strange it does happen.”

            “What do you mean, strange?” Dean questioned in confusion.

            “Well,” The doctor explained, “just yesterday we had a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic and out of nowhere, heart attack.” She looked down at her paperwork to mark something down before Dean thanked her and she left the room.

            “That’s odd.” Dean commented, implication heavy in his words.

            “Maybe it’s a coincidence.” Talia argued, “People’s hearts give out all the time.”

            “No, they don’t.” Dean replied and they both knew he was right but Talia refused to accept what he was implying.

            “Look, Dean,” She pleaded, “do we really have to look a gift horse in the mouth? Can’t we just be grateful that the reverend saved your life and move on?”

            “No,” Dean responded strongly, “I can’t shake this feeling.”

            “What feeling?” Sam jumped in, trying to diffuse the rising tension.

            “When I was healed,” Dean told them, standing up to put his jacket back on as he explained “I just…I felt wrong. I felt cold and for a second…I saw someone.” He hesitated, “Thus, uh, this old man. And I’m telling you, guys, it was a spirit.”

            Sam was still unsure and Talia could sense that he was as unwilling as she was to believe what Dean was hinting at. “But if there was something there, Dean, I think I would’ve seen it, too. I mean, I’ve been seeing an awful lot of things lately.”

            “And I was right next to you,” Talia added, and she knew she was lying but she just wanted to let the matter be, “how come I didn’t see anything either?”

            “Well excuse me, psychic wonders, but you’re just gonna need a little faith on this one.” He emphasized the word faith, throwing Talia’s own use of it back in her face and she winced. “Guys, I’ve been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this.”

            Sam sighed, finally relenting to his brother’s argument. “Yeah, alright. So, what do you wanna do?”

            “I want you two to go check out the heart attack guy. I’m gonna visit the reverend.” Dean declared before he exited the room and Talia watched his retreating form with a pang. It hurt to fight with Dean and she wondered why the two of them were so at odds lately. She thought that with Dean healthy now, she was done with the emotional turmoil but it seemed that wish was too good to be true.

* * *

 

            Sam and Talia investigated the young man who had died from a heart attack and their research led them to a public pool the man would frequent.  There, they talked to an employee who was a friend of the deceased and told them that the man, Marshall, exercised every day and lived a healthy lifestyle.  He mentioned that he’d been talking to Marshall right before he died and that his friend had been freaking out and claiming something was after him.

            Although the pool employee dismissed it as nothing, Talia felt dread rising as they learned more about this man’s death and fear was slowly setting in as she realized the implication of what they were learning.  The final stone dropped when Sam pointed out a nearby broken clock that wasn’t working and they discovered that it was frozen on the time that Marshall had died.  Talia hadn’t checked the exact time while they were in the reverend’s tent but she knew that the time read out by the two frozen hands on the clock face was the exact same time that Dean had been healed.

            At that moment, it finally sank in and Talia was forced to face the truth of what she’d refused to believe but had known deep down to be real.  Somehow, someway, there had been an exchange of lives, and Marshall had died so that Dean could live.  Talia couldn’t stay there for another moment and without a word to Sam she ran outside the building and collapsed onto the sidewalk.

            It was her fault that this man had died and that Dean was now blaming himself for that man’s death.  It was her fault because she should have saved Dean in that basement when he needed her and she couldn’t and now all of this was happening because of her.  Talia felt like she might drown in the guilt and she felt a tear escape to trail down her cheek as she decided that she must be a monster. She’d already killed an innocent man and how long before her strange abilities manifested in new ways and she killed more people? What if she started to want to?

            “Talia, Talia?!” Sam’s shouted as if looking for her and then he spotted her sitting on the curb and immediately rushed over. “Talia, there you are!” He stopped short when she lifted her head to look at him and he noticed she was crying. “What’s wrong?”

            Talia saw caring concern on his face as he looked down at her and she wanted to come up with some lie, pretend like she was just a normal girl upset over the death of a man but she was so tired of lying. Sitting there, looking at Sam who was so confused but so ready to comfort her, she broke. “It’s all my fault.” She whispered hoarsely as a few more tears leaked from her eyes, testimony to the emotional week she’d been having.

            “What are you talking about?” Sam leaned forward as if to wrap his arm around her comfortingly but she scrambled away from him.

            “Don’t!” She cried out, “I don’t deserve consoling. I’m a monster.”

            Sam’s brow furrowed in confusion as she continued to flinch away from him and then a moment later, his face relaxed knowingly. “I’m assuming this has to do with the hand-shaped hole burnt into Dean’s shirt when he got hurt.”

            Talia was momentarily startled from her self-torment by shock as she stared at the youngest Winchester in bewilderment. “What-how did you know about that?”

            “I found you two passed out in the basement, remember?” Sam told her chidingly, “I was trying to make sure you were okay when your hand slipped off and I saw Dean’s shirt. I’ve been meaning to ask you but with everything that was going on, it didn’t seem like the right time.”  Sam settled himself down on the curb beside her and declared, “I want to know what’s going on with you.”

            Talia stared at Sam at a loss for words, she couldn’t believe he was so calm about all of this and in the face of his relaxed acceptance, she found herself wanting to spill everything. She finally had the opportunity the vent everything she’d been hiding and dealing with but she couldn’t find the words to begin. “I-I don’t. How are you so calm about this?” She finally questioned.

            Sam smiled softly at her, “Did you forget about all the strange things that have been happening to me? If there’s anyone who can relate to whatever you’ve been going through, it’s me.”

            Talia returned his smile and then looked down, gathering her thoughts as she took a deep breath and prepared her story.  She started with the night Jessica had died, telling Sam about the horrible feeling she had that something was wrong.  She told him about all the weird dreams she’d had, the oddities during their battle with the demon on the plane, and all about her ball of light.  Sam sat, patiently listening, as she spilled to him every odd thing and strange ability that happened to her in the last few months.  The only thing she omitted was her conversation with Castiel in her childhood home, something telling her that it was important to keep his existence a secret.

            Talia stayed detached from her tale until she began describing what happened in the basement when she’d tried healing Dean.  Reliving the moment when she’d found him, lying on the floor, brought back all the horror of the moment and she didn’t realize Sam had asked something until he repeated the question and she turned to see him staring at her in alarm.

            “You mean, he was actually dead?” Sam looked terrified at the thought.

            “He-he didn’t have a pulse, Sam.” Talia explained how she’d tried to use the abilities she didn’t quite understand in a desperate attempt to save Dean and ended her story when she’d passed out after feeling his heart beat beneath her hand.  There was silence when her tale was finished and she looked cautiously over at Sam to see him looking thoughtful and she gave him a moment to process anything.

            A few moments of silence passed before he noted, “So the hole in Dean’s shirt must have been caused by whatever energy you used when healing him.” It wasn’t really a question but Talia nodded in agreement anyways and Sam looked over at her in confusion as he followed it up with, “But then, why do you think this is your fault? The way I see it, you saved Dean’s life.”

            “But I didn’t Sam.” Talia argued, “That’s the problem, I couldn’t heal him all the way and because of that, because I failed to fix his heart completely, all of this is my fault.”

            “I’m sure Dean doesn’t see it that way.” Talia winced slightly at Sam’s words and he glared at her, “You have told Dean all this, right?”

            “I didn’t know how.” She appealed weakly, “It never felt like the right time.”

            “There is no right time to tell someone this, Talia.” Sam chided, “He needs to know, he’s your best friend, he deserves to know.”

            “But what if he thinks I’m a monster!” Talia exclaimed, “What if he looks at me like I’m some kind of freak, like the way he-” She cut herself off sharply but Sam flinched slightly and a look of hurt crossed his face as he finished her sentence:

            “Like the way he did when he found out about my dreams.”

            “I’m sorry, Sam.” Talia apologized, “I didn’t mean-”

            “No, it’s okay. We both know Dean didn’t take the news well.” Sam told her, “I guess part of me envies you and your secrecy.” He paused a moment before looking over at her again, “But you do know that you can’t keep this secret forever, right?”

            “Yeah, I know.” Talia sighed, wondering when her life had gotten so complicated. Suddenly, she stood up and dusted off her pants as she declared, “Guess we better go back to the motel and see if Dean is back from the reverends yet.” Sam opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more but she pleaded with her eyes for him to drop it, she just wanted to go back to pushing down her emotions and pretending like none of this was affecting her.


	38. Chapter 38

            Thoughts and questions tumbled around in Dean’s head as he headed back to the motel room to meet up with Talia and Sam.  He thought that going to talk to Reverend LeGrange would give him answers but he left with more questions than he’d had when he started and he kept going over what the man had told him when questioned why he’d chosen to heal Dean out of all the people there.

 

            _“The Lord guides me.” The blind man replied simply. “You and that girl of yours, I could sense this light, like the grace of God, shining from within you. Then, I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest.”_

_“What did you see in my heart?” Dean asked in utter confusion._

_“A young man with an important purpose. A job to do, and it isn’t finished.”_

           

            Dean was sure the girl Roy had mentioned must be Talia but he couldn’t figure out if what he’d said about a light was just religious nonsense or what.  And then, as he’d left the reverend’s house, he’d run into Layla and her mom who had then informed him that Layla was dying of a brain tumor and had been trying to get healed by the reverend for months.  The mom had been upset and called him out on why exactly he, a skeptic non-believer, deserved to get saved over her own faithful daughter.

            At first, Dean had been angered by the remark, it wasn’t his fault the reverend had chosen him and the woman had no right to accuse him but then he tried to put himself in her shoes. What if it had been Talia that was dying and some random guy had shown up and on his first day gotten picked to be saved over her? Dean would have been furious and he realized Layla’s mom had a point.  Why did he deserve to live?  If what he believed about his mysterious healing was true, then someone had already died and Layla would die soon all because he had to live.

            The guilt from that thought tainted his mood as he finally arrived back at the hotel room to find Sam and Talia had beaten him back.  He tossed his keys onto the bed and angrily began to take his jacket off as he asked to no one in particular, “What’d you find out?”

            Sam was on his laptop at the table, with Talia sitting next to him, and he looked up with a pitying gaze as he said, “I’m sorry.”

            Dean walked over to the table, fearing the answer but having to ask anyways, “Sorry about what?” He looked over to Talia for an answer but she refused to meet his gaze.

            “Marshall Hall died at 4:17.” Sam replied finally.

            “The exact time I was healed.” Dean was stunned by the news, but not surprised. It was exactly as he’d feared.

            “Yeah,” Sam reluctantly continued with more information. “I put together a list of everyone Roy’s healed, six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obituaries. Every time someone was healed someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time.” Sam’s face filled with distress as he broke away from Dean’s gaze.

            Talia finally spoke up by summarizing, “Somehow, LeGrange is trading one life for another.” Dean heard a strong emotion in her voice but he couldn’t identify it and she still refused to look at him even as he stared at her and exclaimed:

            “Wait, wait, wait. So, Marshall hall died to save me?”

            His loud tone finally drew Talia’s gaze and the sight of her watery gaze sent a pang to Dean’s heart as she entreated him, “Dean, he probably would’ve died anyway. And someone else would’ve been healed.”

            Her words sent a resurgence of guilt and anger through him and he turned away from the table as he declared vehemently, “You never should’ve brought me here.”

            “Dean,” Talia argued angrily, “we were just trying to save your life.”

            Dean spun around roughly, too distraught to hide the emotion from his voice and knowing that Talia would know how upset he was anyways, she always knew. “But, Talia, some guy is dead now because of me.”  He stared accusingly at her and instead of averting her gaze again, he watched the pain in her eyes harden.

            Talia rocketed to her feet. “We didn’t know, Dean. And it doesn’t matter now anyways”

            Dean stared at her in shock, “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? This man died for me, whether we were aware of it or not.”

            “Well it already happened and we can’t change it now.” Talia stated strongly, “What matters is that your alive and you can stop this from happening again.”

            Dean couldn’t believe that she could so blatantly disregard the fact that a man’s life had been sacrificed for him.  “How can you say that?” He was shouting now and he saw her flinch slightly at his raised voice and he added that to his list of things to feel guilty about, “Just because we didn’t know this man, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care about his death.”

            “I do care that he died, Dean.” She had matched his volume, “And yeah, it sucks, but I’m not going to apologize for being happy that you’re alive.” At this point, she had stepped up to confront him and they were in each other’s faces, breathing heavily as both their tempers had risen.

            “That may work for you,” Dean told her, “but you’re not the one who has to live with this man’s death weighing on your soul.”

            His words seemed to knock out all her steam as she deflated slightly and stared up at him, saying in a much softer voice, “Dean, you are not responsible for this.  If you are looking for someone to blame, blame me because this is all my fault and I’m dealing with that as best I can.” Her eyes were pleading, “Just please, don’t feel like this is your fault.” 

            “Talia,” Sam spoke up gently, “maybe you should just-”

            “No!” Talia interrupted him sharply.

            Dean watched the two of them exchange meaningful glances, appearing to have a silent argument before Sam sighed, “Fine, but can we stop arguing and focus on stopping the reverend, please?”

            Dean wanted to ask what the hell had just happened between Talia and Sam but he knew Sam was right and they had more important things to worry about at the moment. Reluctantly, both he and Talia sat back down at the table and Sam continued, hurriedly changing the topic once he saw the two of them had stopped fighting. “So, the thing I don’t understand is how is Roy doing it? How’s he trading a life for a life?”

            “Oh, he’s not doing it.” Dean replied sarcastically, “Something else is doing it for him.”

            “What do you mean?” Sam questioned in bewilderment.

            “The old man I saw on stage.” Dean explained as he paced around in agitation. “I didn’t want to believe it, but deep down I knew. There’s only one thing that can give and take a life like that.”  Talia and Sam both looked at him in confusion, so he elaborated. “We’re dealing with a reaper.”           

* * *

           

            Talia watched Dean walk away sadly, wishing she knew how to fix whatever had gone wrong between them.  She’d remained solemnly silent as the three of them had researched reapers, not wanting to end up fighting with Dean again and Sam had sent her several concerned glances but she avoided his gaze. Thankfully, it hadn’t taken them long to figure out that Roy was probably using black magic to leash the reaper and control it and so they returned to his house to find a way to break the spell he was using.

            Now, Dean was walking away to try and stall Roy while he attempted another healing and all she could think about was what he’d said earlier:

            _“He’s deciding who lives and who dies. That’s a monster in my book.”_

If Dean believed this, then he would certainly think that Talia using her strange powers to save his life made her a monster as well.  She was so glad she hadn’t done like Sam wanted and told Dean about it because the very thought of Dean looking at her in disgust, like she was a monster, made her ill.  Once again, her thoughts were weighing heavily on her soul and she felt them dragging her down as she followed Sam to sneak into Roy’s house to find his spell book.

             Sam found a side window that was unlocked and slid it open, allowing the two of them to slip into the house.  They wandered through the various rooms until they walked into one that looked like an office and had bookshelves lining one wall.  Talia was skimming through the titles of the books on one end when she heard Sam make a triumphant noise and hold out a small black book that had been stuffed out of sight behind the other books. 

            Talia walked over to watch as he flipped through the pages, stopping on a page that was bookmarked with a picture of a skeleton clothed in a black robe and bearing a scythe. “Well, that’s a reaper if I ever saw one.” Talia joked lightly, making Sam roll his eyes at her, unamused.

            Sam flipped the next page and found another smaller picture drawing in the bottom corner of a small cross in a circle on top another cross.  The duo looked at each other and Talia knew without saying anything that Sam too recognized it as the same wooden cross that had been decorating the table in the white tent where Roy held his healings. 

            As Sam continued pilfering through the pages, he discovered a few folded up papers that proved to be newspaper clippings, one was about Marshall who was apparently an openly gay teacher.  Another article discussed a woman who was an abortion rights advocate that had recently died and a third clipping included the familiar face of the man that stood in the parking lot outside handing out leaflets in protest of Roy’s healings.

            Talia exchanged a worried look with Sam and the two of them hurried out of the home, taking the black magic book with them.  As soon as they were safely outside, Sam dialed Dean’s number and explained to him that Roy was choosing victims he considered immoral and that the next target was David Wright, the protestor in the parking lot.  Sam told Dean to stop Roy from trying to heal anyone and then he and Talia split up to begin scouring the parking lot in search of Wright.

            Talia ran between cars, looking desperately for a sign of the man, “Dammit, where the hell is he?”  It wasn’t until she stopped for a moment to catch her breath that she felt the unnatural chill tugging at her chest and she called out to Sam, “This way!” She followed the sensation and ran around a parked bus just in time to hear cries for help.

            Further ahead, she spotted David sprawled in terror against a small red car as he continued to shout for help while he stared down the reaper that Talia couldn’t see but could sense that it was near.  She rushed over to the man’s side, followed closely by Sam. “Where is he!?” She shouted anxiously, wondering why she could still feel its presence yet was unable to see it as she had when Dean had been healed. 

            “It’s over there!” David cried out in fear and Sam quickly pulled him the opposite direction as the three of them fled the reaper.

            A moment later, Sam’s phone rang and he answered it, listening for a moment before nodding to Talia in relief and declaring, “David, I think it’s ok.”  In the distance, Talia noticed the large crowd of people exiting the white tent in a hurry and she wondered how Dean had managed to stop the healing.

            The man sighed in relief but not a second later, he cried out and collapsed to his knees his eyes glazing over into a milky white. Talia yelped in shock and surged forward instinctively to help as she heard Sam shout, “Dean, it didn’t work. The reaper’s still coming!”  Talia felt absolutely frigid as she touched David and the cold burned her fingers as she tried to steady him on the ground while he rolled about in pain.

            “I’m telling you it didn’t work.” Sam explained hurriedly, “Roy must not be the one controlling this thing.”

            While she waited for Sam and Dean to figure out what the hell was going on, Talia focused on trying to keep David from dying.  She reached for her light and felt its familiar blue glow within her chest. She summoned it to surge through her veins and it responded much easier then when she’d first tried to heal Dean but when she tried to channel it through her fingers and into David, it stopped like a rope that had stretched as far as it would go.  It seemed that the light hadn’t fully returned still since she healed Dean and she wondered if it would ever be strong enough now that a piece was stuck inside Dean.

             Thankfully, Talia soon felt the unnatural chill disappear and the white film over David’s eyes dissipated as he gasped for air.  Sam rushed over to help him stand, looking at Talia as he questioned, “Did you…”

            “No, it wasn’t me.” Talia answered, “Dean must have stopped whoever was controlling the reaper. I don’t sense it anymore.”

            “Wait, you can sense the reaper?” Sam asked incredulously, staring at her in surprise.

            She shrugged her shoulders, “Apparently, although I couldn’t see it like I did earlier.”

            Sam raised an eyebrow at her, clearly indicating that her statement needed further explanation but she pointed to David and he nodded and the two of them escorted him back to his car where he thanked them profusely before driving away.  Then, Talia and Sam made their way through the crowds of people hovering around in the parking lot and went to wait by the Impala for Dean.

            “So, care to explain why you didn’t mention that you saw the reaper before?”

            Talia sighed, “Cause it would have led to questions that I’m not ready to answer and I’m not sure how I was able to see it then but not now. Besides, I’m not even sure if it was because of whatever I am or just because I happened to be touching Dean at the time.” Sam seemed to consider this for a moment and then conceded that she had a point although Talia could tell he was still unhappy that she wouldn’t tell Dean. 

            Talia finally spotted Dean as he was escorted out of the tent by two police officers but Roy’s wife said something that seemed to convince the officers to let him go.  On his way over to the Impala, Dean paused to talk to Layla and the conversation seemed to upset him as he was tight lipped when he finally made it to where Sam and Talia were waiting. 

            When they got back to their motel room, Dean told Talia and Sam how he’d discovered it was actually Roy’s wife controlling the reaper and he didn’t think that Roy knew what was actually going on.  After Dean finished his tale, Sam told him about the book that he and Talia had found and offered it to his brother while he explained, “It’s ancient, written by a priest who went dark side. There’s a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper.”

            “Must be a hell of a spell.” Dean commented drily while flipping through the book’s pages.

            “Yeah.” Sam agreed. “You have to build a black alter with some seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross a line like that, as a preacher’s wife.” Sam shook his head in disbelief, “Black magic, murder, evil...” He trailed off.

            “She was desperate.” Talia said, beginning to understand. “Her husband was dying and she didn’t have anything to save him. So, she used the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy.”

            “Cheating death,” Sam snorted in amusement, “literally.”

            “Yeah, but Roy’s alive, so why is she still using the spell?” Dean wondered aloud

            Talia answered his question by pointing to the newspaper clippings within the book as she told him, “To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral.”

            Dean scoffed and shook his head, “May God save us from half the people who think they’re doing God’s work.”

            “We have to break that binding spell.” Sam announced.

            Dean was still flipping through the book and he suddenly paused on the page with the drawing of the strange cross that Sam and Talia had noticed earlier. Pointing to it, he observed, “You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this.  When she dropped it, the reaper backed off.”

            Talia furrowed her brow as she leaned over to reexamine the drawing, “So you think we need to find the cross or destroy the altar?”

            “Maybe both.” Dean replied, “Whatever we do we better do it soon, or he’s healing Layla tonight.”

            A couple hours later, night had fallen and the trio was once more pulling into the familiar muddy parking lot.  They snuck over to the entrance of the tent and pulled one of the flaps at the entrance back just far enough to peek in and see the small group of people gathered right in front of the stage where the reverend and Layla were standing.

            Talia scanned the faces and realized there was a missing person. “Sue Ann isn’t here, she must be in the house.” The boys nodded in agreement and the three of them moved towards the modest two-story home that lay across the parking lot.  As they got near, Talia spotted the same two cops from earlier that day standing in front of the stairs up to the house.

            Dean noticed them as well and pushed her and Sam out of sight behind some bushes as he told them, “Go find Sue Ann, I’ll catch up.”  Talia was about to protest, wary of letting him out of her sight again but Sam pulled her back with him to hide in the shadows.

            “Hey!” Dean called out tauntingly, “You gonna put that fear of God in me?”  Anger quickly dawned on the cops faces and the rushed towards Dean who took off in the opposite direction, leading them further away from the home and giving Sam and Talia an opportunity to run to the house unnoticed. 

            “That man has a special talent for pissing off the police.” Talia noted with a chuckle as she followed Sam in circling around the house, looking for any signs of someone inside but all the lights were off and nothing but darkness emanated from within.

            Sam halted to turn and lift an eyebrow at Talia, “Yeah, you had to get it from somewhere.”

            Talia pursed her lips in thought as she reviewed all her own interactions with police officers and then admitted with a shrug. “Huh, guess you’re right.”

            Sam rolled his eyes with a laugh and then the two of them continued looking for a sign of where the reverend’s wife might be hiding when Sam pointed out a cellar door from which they could just barely see small shafts of light emerging from cracks in the entrance.  They hopped off the porch and headed to the doors which were built into the ground nearly horizontal.

            “Of course, you can’t practice black magic without having a creepy underground cellar in which to perform your dastardly deeds.”

            This time, Sam ignored her joking remark and lead the way into the basement.  Walking down the stairs, Talia shook off an ominous sense of déjà vu as she remembered the last time she was in a cellar like this she had been chosen to play human sacrifice to a scarecrow god.  They moved quietly through the basement passing dust covered furniture until they spotted a candlelit alter that was covered with various artifacts of black magic that made Talia wrinkle her nose in disgust.

            Talia was horrified when she realized there was a photo of Dean in the middle of the alter and his face was crossed out with blood; Sue Ann was going to try and sacrifice Dean’s life for Layla’s.  She lifted the photo up and then angrily ripped it in half just as a voice called out from behind them.


	39. Chapter 39

            “I gave your brother life and I can take it away.”  Talia turned around to see Sue Ann staring at them calmly, with no emotion on her face.

            Seeing the woman who had killed so many people, completely unfazed sent Talia’s rage boiling even higher and she grabbed the end of the alter flipped it over sending everything on top clattering to the ground with a great crash.  Talia turned to face Sue Ann, satisfied with the destruction of the black alter, only to see the woman darting back to the exit with Sam in hot pursuit. The doors slammed shut right before Sam got to the top of the stairs and he pushed up against the doors in frustration, unable to break through whatever Sue Ann had put to block them.

            “Can’t you see?” Sue Ann’s voice came through from the other side as Sam continued to strain against the doors, “The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother is wicked and he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It is God’s will.”  There was a pause and Talia saw Sam give up on trying to get through the doors and she faintly heard Sue Ann’s retreating farewell.

            Talia scanned around the basement, furiously looking for another way out when she spotted a small boarded up window.  She spied a board of wood lying next to the wall nearby and swung it around to smash through the window, shattering the glass and sending the wood that had been covering the other side of the window flying.  Sam turned around at the noise and hurried over as Talia used the end of the wood to break off as much of the remaining glass as possible until there was a hole just big enough for her to crawl through.

            “Sam, give me a boost.” Sam immediately crouched down beneath the window and cupped his hands together.  She took a couple steps back to get a running start and then jumped of his hands while he pushed upwards, sending her high enough in the air to grab a hold of the window ledge.  Knowing she was running out of time, Talia pulled herself forward, wriggling through the window and wincing as she felt shards of glass cut into her hands.

            She fell through onto the ground and winced as she caught herself on her now bloody hands.  Talia stood quickly and looked back to see Sam staring at her through the window desperately and she realized there was no way he was going to fit through the same opening that she had and he knew it too.

            “I’ll be back for you.” Talia promised before sprinting away to find Sue Ann and stop her from using the reaper to kill Dean.  She was headed towards the tent when she felt a sudden shot of cold that indicated the reaper’s presence and made her stumble weakly into the side of a car.  She realized that she was sensing the reaper through her connection to Dean and the icy feeling was the sensation of life slowly draining from him.

            Talia pushed through the weakness to rise to her feet and dash forward until she got to the front of the white tent where she found Sue Ann chanting in Latin and clasping something in her hands.  Wasting no time, Talia leapt forward and tackled the woman to her ground causing the reverend’s wife to cease her chanting as she cried out in surprise.

            Talia ripped the item from her hands and threw it onto the ground which turned out to be a vial of blood that exploded and some of the liquid inside splattered onto Talia’s face.  She ignored the blood coating part of her face as she stared down at Sue Ann and felt fury build up within her.  This woman had been about to kill Dean and had nearly succeeded in doing so and Talia felt all the grief, guilt, anger, and every other emotion that she’d been bottling up over the last week, reach the breaking point.  She felt her hands begin to burn and she realized that she’d unconsciously summoned the light to pool into her hands and she felt it shining through her eyes as she glared down at Sue Ann who eyes widened in fright.

            “What are you?”

            Talia smiled menacingly, “I’m the one who hunts the wicked.”  Sue Ann struggled beneath her but Talia easily kept her pinned with her superior strength as she chided, “Don’t fight it Sue Ann. Like you said, it’s God’s will.”  Talia grasped the woman’s head between her hands and began pushing the light in her hands outwards and instead of healing, the light slowly crept through Sue Ann’s veins in burning brilliance. 

            Overwhelmed by her own fury, Talia ignored the woman’s cries of pains as she pushed onwards, determined to stop her from hurting anyone else ever again.  Talia kept a thin thread of control though, just enough to control the stream of power so that it slowly leaked through Sue Ann’s body.  Talia didn’t want her to die in an instant, she wanted her to suffer for all that she’d made Dean suffer and how close she’d come to ending him.

            A familiar icy sensation accompanied by a frigid hand lying on her shoulder cooled Talia’s burning emotions and she looked over her shoulder to see the reaper standing behind her.  It didn’t say a word to her, but as it stared into her eyes she sensed what it wanted, so, she retracted the light back within herself and stood up releasing Sue Ann from beneath her.  The older woman rose shakily to her feet and looked Talia suspiciously.  Talia saw faint outlines of her own hands, burnt into the sides of her head before Sue Ann turned to run away only to be immediately confronted with the reaper standing before her.

            The woman cried out in shock and Talia watched on in fascination as the reaper grabbed Sue Ann’s head and slowly forced her to the ground as it drained the life from her, making her eyes glaze over.  It was a sort of poetic justice, she figured, that the reaper got its revenge for being trapped and forced to kill people according to Sue Ann’s will by killing her instead.  Unfeelingly, Talia and the reaper watched as she fell back on the ground and convulsed a couple times before she lay still, dead at last.

            The reaper looked satisfied and nodded to Talia before it disappeared without a trace and Talia turned away from the body, not feeling bad for the woman’s death after all she’d done.  She searched for Dean with her light and sensed him not too far away from her in the parking lot and she took a couple steps in that direction before stopping and hesitating. 

            Through her connection to the piece of light within him, she could feel that he was fine and that the reaper’s attack hadn’t done any permanent damage. Yet still, she wanted to go check on him but she wasn’t sure he wanted to see her right now and she wasn’t sure she could handle another argument with him, it would hurt too much.  So instead, she headed back to the house to where she’d left Sam trapped in the basement.

            When she got back to the doors leading to the basement, she saw a bar wedged through the handles, keeping them from opening.  She went to grab on it and pull it free but let out a cry as pain shot through her hands when she tried to grip it.  Talia turned her hands over to examine her palms and realized in shock that her hands were coated in blood that was seeping from numerous cuts.  She’d forgotten about her escape through the broken window and she could see several pieces of glass were still lodged in her skin.

            She tilted her head slightly to the side as she watched in fascination as the blood slowly ran down her fingers to drip softly onto the dirt.  For a moment, she could feel Sue Ann’s head between her hands again and the elation of controlling the power of the light in her hands, the righteous fury swarming her as her eyes and hands blazed.  She felt like with the slightest pressure she could crack the skull beneath her hands but then she blinked hard and she was kneeling on the ground in front of the cellar doors once more.

 _I tried to kill her,_ Talia realized with horror, _I **wanted** to kill her._ It finally hit her what had just happened, she’d been about to kill a human, not a monster or a spirit, but a human. She was a hunter, she was supposed to protect humans from the creatures of the night, not step aside and let a reaper kill a woman and certainly not revel in it.  Disgust for herself filled her and she balled her hands into fists, relishing the pain as the glass dug further into her flesh.  _I deserve the pain for what I did._ _I’m a monster._

            She was terrified at what she was capable of, especially when Dean was involved, she was supposed to be burying her feelings, not letting them control her like this.  She gripped her face in her hands in hopelessness as she began to wonder if she could ever really change how she felt. She wasn’t sure what to feel anymore and all the emotions that had filled her earlier were gone and instead, she just felt drained of everything.

            Warm fingers suddenly gripped her hands and gently pried them from her face.  Talia looked up to see Dean crouching in front of her, holding her hands in his own and staring at her with concern written all over his face. “Talia, are you okay?”

            She just stared at him blankly, her brain struggling to figure out why he was here, with her, when she was the one that had caused this entire fiasco in the first place.  She saw Dean’s face grow even more worried and he raised one hand to wipe his thumb across her cheek and stared at the blood the clung to his thumb before making the connection and pulling her hands closer to his face to examine them in the moonlight. “What the hell happened to your hands?!”

            “Guys, is that you?” Sam’s voice called out, saving Talia from having to respond, “Can you let me out.”

            Dean stared at Talia intensely for another moment before releasing her to yank the bar out of the door handles and throwing them open to reveal Sam standing on the staircase in the cellar.  The two brothers let out a relieved laugh to see that they were both okay but then Dean turned back to Talia who hadn’t moved and asked, “Sam, do you know what happened to her hands?”

            “She must have cut them on the cellar window when she crawled through to escape.”  Sam explained, “She went to stop Sue Ann but I’m not sure what else happened, I’ve been trapped in there the whole time.”

            Dean pulled Talia to her feet gently and looked at her hands once more but Talia just stood staring at him silently.  She didn’t deserve his concern but she couldn’t find the energy to protest and she could tell he was worried by her silence and she couldn’t handle causing him anymore pain so she tried to fake a smile when he declared, “Come on little wolf, we’ll fix you up back at the motel.”

            The three of them made their way to the Impala and drove back to their motel room and it was nearing midnight by the time they got there.  Talia still hadn’t said a word and she’d felt Dean staring at her through the rearview mirror several times on the drive back but she was still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened. 

            As soon as she walked through the door, Dean pushed her to sit down at the table and pulled the first-aid kit he kept in his bag.  This time, the silence was comfortable and familiar as he gently grasped her hand while he used a pair of tweezers to remove the shards of glass.  This was a familiar situation, them patching each other up after a hunt, and the routine was soothing in its familiarity to them both. 

            Once he’d gotten all the pieces out, Dean looked around for some alcohol to disinfect it only to find the whiskey bottle in his bag was empty.  Talia smiled at the shocked expression on Dean’s face before pointing over at her bag, “There should be a small bottle of rubbing alcohol somewhere in my bag.”  Dean looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and she explained with a laugh, “You know, what normal people use as disinfectant.”

            “Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Dean joked with a smirk. “You know, a little for me, a little for the wound?”  Talia snorted in amusement as Dean walked over to rummage through her bag and look for the bottle she’d mentioned.  It was good to see Dean acting more normal again and she closed her eyes for a minute to appreciate the fact that they were all okay and everyone had survived, even after the crazy week they’d had.

            Opening her eyes, Talia glanced over to see what was taking Dean so long and saw him standing rigidly, the muscles in his back tense while he appeared to be holding something.  She couldn’t see what it was since his back was facing her so she asked, “Dean, did you find it?” He didn’t respond so she walked over to see that he was holding a packet of paper in his hands, his fingers clenched so hard that the paper has started to crinkle along the sides.

            It took Talia a moment to recognize the packet of papers that had been buried beneath the bottom of her bag for so long now that she’d almost completely forgot about their existence.  She froze in shock, _this is bad, really bad._   “Dean?” She asked, her voice soft and cautious.

            Dean turned to face her, “What- what the hell is this?” His eyes held several different conflicting emotions and his voice was tight as he waved the papers in her face. “You want to explain to me what these are?”

            Talia recoiled back, she’d knew he’d be upset when he found out but she’d never expected him to be so angry. “Dean…I-I” She stumbled over her words, not sure how in the world she would ever begin to explain and this seemed to further enrage him as he shouted:

            “Answer me!”

            Sam suddenly stepped forward, “Hey Dean, calm down okay.”  Talia was grateful for his interference because it gave her a moment to gather her thoughts and collect herself to give the explanation that Dean deserved.  Before she could start speaking though, Dean looked at his brother in shock, analyzing the lack of surprise or interest in Sam’s face before he questioned:  
           

            “You knew?” He stared back at Talia with hurt in his eyes that sent her a jolt of guilt, “How long has he known?”

            Talia sighed and admitted, “Since the asylum case.”

            Dean didn’t look too surprised by this, “God, I knew you two were hiding something but I never-“ He sank down onto the bed and without looking up asked, “Were you ever planning on telling me?”

            “I meant to, I swear I did, but I never seemed to find the right time and I…” She swallowed nervously, “I knew it would upset you.”

            “How could you keep something like this from me? You promised me you wouldn’t shut me out anymore.” Dean’s voice was steady but Talia could sense the betrayal behind those words even as he tried to hide it and she lowered her gaze in shame.  There was a slight rustling sound and she noticed Dean pulling out the first paper in the letter to read it but she made no motion to stop him, it was too late now anyways.

            She watched him read the entire letter that said she’d been accepted into the college and she waited resignedly for when he reached the part where it gave the date for when she was supposed to move into the dorms.  Talia knew he’d reached that part of the letter when he shuffled through the papers and pulled out the plane ticket she’d thrown into the packet and compared the date on the tickets to that on the letter.  It was the same Monday that they’d dropped Sam off at his apartment in the wee hours of the morning for his law school interview later that day. The same day that Jessica had died and the three of them had left Stanford together to look for John and Sam hadn’t looked back.

            Talia watched Dean process all of this in silence before looking up at her in utter surprise, “You were supposed to leave on November 2.” It wasn’t a question but Talia nodded her head in affirmation. “I don’t understand…why didn’t you leave? You should have told me and Sam to drop you off at the airport.” His voice remained low but there was anger hardening his tone. 

            “Yeah,” Talia conceded, “I probably should have. But I didn’t and there’s nothing we can change about that now. I made my decision.”  She tried to pretend like that was the end of the conversation but Dean didn’t let her off the hook.

            “But it was the wrong one!” He cried out, “This was your dream! You always wanted to be a doctor and you just threw that all away?! Why would you do that?” He closed in on her anger, “Why? Dammit Talia, why would you not say anything about this to either of us?!”

            Talia finally broke as he repeated the questions at her and she shouted back in a rage, “You! I did it because of you!” Dean’s jaw snapped shut and he looked at her in astonishment. “You want to know why I chose a life of hunting and pain over going off to a fancy college overseas? Why, after I’d already bought a plane ticket, did I change my mind? You, that’s why.”

            She couldn’t meet his eyes as she steeled herself to continue and admit to him what she had barely been able to admit to herself. “I couldn’t leave you, Dean.  I remember what it was like when Sam left and I didn’t want to put you through that again, especially not after seeing how happy you were when the three of us were back together again.”

            “Don’t-” Dean’s ire was not abetted but he’d at least stopped shouting, “Don’t put this on me. Don’t blame me for this. You were already living a normal life in that house and you barely saw me anyways so don’t you dare act like this would have been anything like the way Sam left.”

            “That’s the thing, Dean.” Talia felt tears burning her eyes but she refused to let them fall, refusing to appear weak. “I didn’t live in that house, I was barely surviving.” She tried to make him understand, “I didn’t fit in a world outside of hunting, I couldn’t do it and I only just survived by waiting for the next time you’d be able to stop by. The only time I was ever truly alive is when I was with you.”

            Talia clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking and felt a pang as the cuts in her hands stretched with the movement.  She refused to back down, feeling affronted that Dean had the audacity to judge her when he knew nothing about what it was like for her when she was living alone. “With John missing, I realized I had the opportunity to rejoin you and hunt again and I couldn’t let that pass…you’re all the family that I’ve got left."

            “But that’s just it,” Dean exclaimed, “you aren’t family, Talia. All your family is dead!” Talia flinched as if he’d just slapped her, repelled by the animosity in his voice but he didn’t stop there. “Your parents died to protect you and you repay them by throwing away any chance of a safe normal life. I’m sure they’re so proud of you now.” Dean spat out the last part and glared at her.

            Talia felt like he was driving a nail into her heart, hammering it in further with every word and she could barely breathe through the pain.  She felt a single tear escape to trail down her cheek and then her light flared up in response to her pain and fury coursed through her just like when she’d pinned Sue Ann down. Channeling the energy into her hand, she threw a punch that caught Dean straight across the face and sent him tumbling to the ground. Talia glowered down at him, her chest heaving in anger. “Screw you, Dean.”

            She watched him spit some blood out of his mouth while Sam rushed over to help him up but Dean shoved his brother away and when he looked up at Talia from the ground, he didn’t seem surprised by her reaction. For a second, Talia frowned in confusion as she swore she caught satisfaction in his eyes but before she could be sure, it was replaced with animosity. “You’re not a Winchester and we don’t need your help fixing our problems…I don’t need you either.”

            Talia knew that statement should hurt and she even saw Sam look at his brother aghast as if he didn’t know what was wrong with him either but the light surging in her veins overpowered anything else but her indignation.  She leaned down to grab him by the front of his shirt, “You don’t need me?” She scoffed, “You were dead and without me you wouldn’t be alive and I’m not talking about taking you to see some religious faith healer bullshit.” 

            She saw that Dean was baffled by this and she figured she’d already spilled one secret so she might as well air out all the skeletons in her closet.  Pressing two fingers to Dean’s forehead, Talia focused on the night they’d encountered the rawhead and in a flash of light she forced Dean to experience her perspective as she found him dead.

            When the memory was over, Talia immediately stood up and began throwing all her belongings into her bag. She had it zipped shut and slung over her shoulder in seconds and she turned back around to see Sam staring at her in concern while Dean was still lying on the floor, flabbergasted as he struggled with words:

            “I…what…” He couldn’t seem to decide what question he wanted to ask and he finally settled on, “How the hell did you do that?”

            “You can ask your _brother_ all about that.” Talia told him mockingly, emphasizing her use of the word brother and she was satisfied to see Dean flinch slightly. She marched over to the door of the motel room, knowing she had to get out of there as soon as possible.  Glancing in the mirror by the door, she realized that her eyes were burning with brilliant blue light and she looked utterly terrifying.  Horrified, Talia rushed outside and she heard Sam calling her name as the door slammed shut behind her but she didn’t stop until she’d run around the building and hidden in the shadows of an alley.

            With a gasp, Talia leaned against the wall and sank to the ground burying her head in her knees as she struggled to reign in the light.  It was like trying to control the sea and she found the more frustrated and emotional she got, the harder it became until she was sobbing in failure.  She had no idea how her powers worked and it frightened her that it could so easily overwhelm her like this as soon as she felt strong emotions.

            Maybe this is what Castiel had meant when he said she needed to learn how to control her powers. How she wished he was here now to help her but she’d rejected him and now Dean didn’t want her and she was all alone again. Maybe this is what she deserved though, she looked like a monster now and maybe it was time to accept that she should be alone.

            Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of feathers and she felt a presence that seemed to calm her light and send it retreating back to hide in her chest again.  Then there was a familiar gruff voice that asked, “What’s wrong, sister?”

            Talia looked up in alarm to see Castiel standing in the alleyway, dressed just like she’d seen him last and staring at her with concern in his eyes. She gasped in shock and had to stop herself from screaming at his sudden appearance. “How- what are you doing here?”

            “I told you before that you could call my name and I would come.” He stated simply, “And you appear to be in distress, what is wrong? Are you hurt?”

            “No, no, Castiel, I’m fine…Well, I’m not physically hurt at least.” Talia assured him and then considered her situation, “Except now I’m all alone with nowhere to go.” It truly hit her then, in that moment that she had no home at all now and the only people in the world that meant anything to her were lost to her.  She found herself crying again and she went to wipe her face when she noticed that her hands had started bleeding again sometime during her argument with Dean.

            Castiel noticed this as well and he reached over to place his index and middle finger on her forehead and she was blinded momentarily by a brief flash of light. When her vision returned, she looked down to see her hands were completely healed and there were no marks to indicate where pieces of glass had previously torn her flesh apart.  Castiel had healed her, just as she’d done to Dean.

            “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Castiel muttered, “Your wounds are healed and yet you still express sadness through the secretion of salt water from your eyes.”  Talia saw him looking at her as if he didn’t know what to do to help but desperately wished he did and an idea came to her as she remembered what he said earlier.

            “Did you mean it, when you called me sister?” She asked cautiously.

            He nodded, “Yes, although you may not understand exactly how or why, you are one of my brethren.”

            Talia stood, grabbing her bag from where it had fallen onto the floor and decided, “Good, then I will take you up on your previous offer, if it still stands. I want you to take me with you and teach me what you know about what I am.”

            A genuine, delighted smile broke out on his face and he offered her a hand to take.  Talia only hesitated a second, looking back where she could see the Impala parked in the motel lot but then she reached out and took Castiel’s hand.  There was a sound akin to rustling wings and then a moment later, the alley was empty and there was no sign of either of them by the time Sam walked past, calling out Talia’s name into the night.


	40. Chapter 40

            The pungent odor of stale cigarettes hit Talia as she swung open the door to a dingy, hole-in-the-wall bar in a town whose name she’d forgotten.  She did a quick, reflexive scan of the building’s occupants as she wandered over to the bar but no one paid her any attention as she walked in.  She only grimaced slightly at the mysterious stains on the seat cushion before she sank into the stool with a sigh.  She never used to get the appeal of coming to places like these but since it had become a nightly routine, she had to admit it was starting to grow on her.

            Talia waved at the bartender, asking for a beer but wishing she could get something a little stronger.  She was running low on cash though and hustling pool was one of the easiest ways she knew of to earn some quick money and she’d quickly learned wasn’t safe to do unless she was sober.  As she drank lightly on her beer, she casually looked over to see a group of three guys playing pool and laughing raucously among themselves, they were in their own little world and she was sure they were paying no attention to anyone else in the bar.

 _Perfect._ She smirked to herself and then downed the rest of her beer before heading towards the pool table, making sure to stumble slightly on her way over.  All three men’s attention zeroed on her as soon as she approached the table and asked if they would teach her how to play the game.  They all smiled to themselves before graciously offering to let her join their game and Talia grinned internally at how easy this was gonna be when she noticed they were already fairly drunk.

            Three rounds of pool later, Talia smirked as she lined up her cue and then sank the eight ball into a pocket with a satisfying clunk.  She strode over to swipe the pile of cash of the table and ran her finger through it as her smile widened before folding it to stick it in the inner pocket of her leather jacket.   

            A hand caught hers before she could complete the motion and the blonde man who’d been getting handsy with her all night glowered down at her. “You bitch! You hustled us.” There was a slight slur to his words that was testimony to the rounds of shots they’d taken during their games of pool and his two friends stood behind him glaring at her too.

            Talia sighed, she’d hoped they would let it go easily but they appeared to have absorbed some drunken courage.  She ripped her hand from the man’s grip, pushing him away slightly as she slid the money into her pocket and said, “I won this fair and square. Now why don’t you go home and nurse your broken pride before you start something that I’m gonna have to finish.”

            Instead of giving up like she’d hoped, the man stepped into her personal space and backed her up against the table.  He leaned in close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath as he declared, “Maybe I should just get a different kind of recompense for the money you stole from us.” He leered at her in a manner that sent a shudder down Talia’s spine.

            “Get off of me.” She cried as she shoved him back again, sending him stumbling into his friends while she walked towards the door.  She thought she was gonna get away when blondie’s hand caught her arm and tugged her backwards once more, snapping her final thread of patience.

            “Hey, I’m talkin’ to you, bit-” His words were cut off as Talia turned into his backwards pull and decked him across the face, sending him to the floor in a heap.  The room spun slightly for a moment and Talia cursed, _I shouldn’t have taken that last shot._   She didn’t have time for more regret as the man’s two remaining friends let out cries of rage and rushed for her.

            The alcohol in her veins made her movements less refined and sluggish but it still only took her moments to send both men to join their friend on the ground, groaning in pain.  Talia spun without a word and stalked out of the bar, grabbing the half empty bottle of whiskey they’d been working on all night as she left. 

            The night air was refreshing in her lungs after the musty air inside but she winced slightly as the whiskey burned her now split lip on the way down.  She could feel her left eye starting to swell and she had a feeling it’d be a beautiful shade of purple in the morning; not that she cared much.  The two idiots had managed to get a few good hits in but for now, the heavy burn of the alcohol numbed most of the pain.

            She headed down the sidewalk towards the nearby hotel, glad that it was in walking distance and she swayed back and forth slightly as she moved beneath the streetlamps that provided soft light in the early morning hours.  By the time Talia got back to the motel room, the bottle was only a quarter full and it took her a few tries to get the key into the lock of her door.

            She finally successfully unlocked it and stumbled into her room, collapsing onto her bed and doing her best to ignore the distinct absence of two other people in the room. Talia let the bottle fall from her hands onto the floor and glanced over at the clock on the nightstand to see it was three in the morning.  She groaned, realizing she had to be up to leave town in a few hours, and then rolled over to sleep, grabbing the wrinkled gray shirt that lay on the bed from last night

            She’d discovered the shirt in her bag the night she’d fled the Winchesters. It was one of Dean’s shirts that had made it into her bag when she’d grabbed a pile of his clothes to bring him as he escaped from the hospital.  She’d been looking for a book to read to keep her occupied as she wasn’t able to sleep despite the exhaustion that had weighed her down and instead had found the shirt. 

            The smell of Dean that was clinging to the fabric had brought tears to her eyes but it was also comforting and made the empty motel room feel a little less lonely.  She’d fallen asleep that first night, with the shirt clutched in her hands, pretending like it was really his familiar presence next to her.

            It was pretty pathetic and the scent had faded from the shirt weeks ago but she still couldn’t fall asleep without it and it was only at those times, alone in the darkness of the night, that Talia let herself feel alone.  By morning, she pushed it all down and locked it away while she focused on hunting and pretending that the shirt lying on her bed, or the man who it belonged to, didn’t exist.  She wasn’t going to let her emotional weakness stop her from putting all her effort into her work with Castiel and keeping people safe.

            Speaking of the angel, Talia was surprised that he hadn’t popped in to check on her yet.  When he’d first told her that he was her literal guardian angel, she’d laughed in his face, but he’d been steadfast in keeping an eye on her and checking on her whenever she got hurt although unless seriously injured, she usually refused to let him heal her.  Physical pain helped keep her brain occupied from focusing on other thoughts she wanted to avoid.

            Like the fact that she was somehow part angel and Castiel was an angel of the lord.  She’d kind of guessed the last part but guessing it and actually being told its true were two very different things and the first part was something she still couldn’t wrap her head around and she’d told Castiel it was utter bullshit until he sat down and patiently explained exactly what he meant.

            Apparently, she’d been chosen to be heaven’s weapon, for some reason that Castiel wouldn’t or couldn’t share with her, and when she was 6 months old he’d visited her to give her some of his blood which was the source of her strange powers.  What she called her light, Castiel had told her was actually her own angelic grace that had been formed over time as his blood ran through her system.

            Castiel’s main focus had been to help Talia learn how to use and control her grace which would occur in random lessons whenever he popped in, quite literally.  She’d quickly learned that he had very little, if any at all, grasp on basic human mannerisms and culture and many of her first days with him and been spent teaching him some basic rules of when he could and couldn’t just teleport to wherever she was.

            He picked up on things fairly quickly but he still had much to learn and yet, despite his oddities, Talia found herself enjoying his company whenever he stuck around outside their lessons together.  Often, he would suddenly declare that he had to leave and would be gone in a flash, sometimes disappearing for days at a time which was how Talia had gotten into hunting by herself.

            Castiel hadn’t been ecstatic about her endangering herself but she flat out refused to just sit around whenever he disappeared and told him she could use hunting to work on controlling her grace.  They’d learned that her more powerful abilities were tied to her emotions which Castiel had speculated must be an affect from the human part of her and he’d helped her to control her grace and stop it from overwhelming her as it had the night she’d punched Dean.

            Talia found that as her self-control improved, the nightmares that had plagued her sense childhood had finally stopped which was a blessed relief.  However, although she could call upon her grace with practiced ease now, she struggled to perform any of the more powerful abilities that Castiel said should come naturally to her as it did every other angel.  This conundrum is what had sent him away a few days ago and she hadn’t seen a hair of him since but she’d just continued hunting, knowing he’d return eventually.

            For now, Talia was on her own again but she had become accustomed to the lifestyle of hunting across the country by herself.  It was a lot riskier to hunt without a partner but Castiel was always there if she ever got seriously hurt, tasked with keeping an eye on her by his superiors, as he told it. 

            She tried to pry into who exactly these superiors were but he wasn’t very forthcoming with information that she didn’t absolutely need to know and she knew there was much he wasn’t telling her.  Talia had stopped caring a long time ago, if he didn’t want to share it with her that was fine, as long as they didn’t try and stop her from hunting she figured his superiors could do whatever the hell they wanted. They’d given her abilities that made her a better hunter and that’s all she really cared about.

            Thinking about all this angel stuff was begging to make Talia’s head pound and she forced all thoughts from her head as she tried to fall asleep.  Eventually the alcohol still running through her dragged her down into a dreamless slumber and she passed out, curled around the grey t-shirt grasped tightly in her hands.

* * *

 

            Talia was awoken by her grace alerting her to Castiel’s presence in the room and she cracked open an eye to look for him only to groan at the blinding light and push her face back into the pillow to hide from the morning.  She could feel a pounding headache coming on and her stomach was queasy from all the alcohol that had marinated in it overnight.

            “You are hungover, again.” Castiel observed helpfully and if Talia didn’t know better she would have thought there was a bit of sarcasm in that last word but she wasn’t sure he understood the concept yet.  “I fail to comprehend why you continually repeat this behavior when the aftermath is so…unpleasant.”

            Talia flipped him the bird before realizing he probably had no idea what the gesture meant and so she sighed before uncovering her mouth just enough to tell him, “Because Castiel, I’m human, well part human anyways, and this is what we do to drown out emotions we don’t want to feel.” Knowing he would continue to pester her until she got up, Talia heaved herself up and swung over to sit on the edge of the bed and cradle her head in her hands before she continued. “Besides, it’s only the morning afterwards that suck.  The nights before are the fun part.”

            When she didn’t get a response, Talia looked up to see Castiel glaring at her in exasperation, a human expression he’d picked up on very quickly.  As soon as she looked at him though, she saw anger and concern take over and he stepped closer to examine her face.  “Who did this to you?” He demanded in outrage and she turned her head to glance into the mirror on the wall only to wince at the multitude of purple and blue that spread across the left side of her face.

            Castiel quickly pressed a finger to her forehead to heal her wounds and Talia felt her grace hum lightly in response to his own before he was once more glaring at her. She shrugged sheepishly at him and remarked, “You think that was bad, you should see the other guy?” His expression didn’t change and she once more curse his inability to comprehend sarcasm and she reassured him, “It’s nothing, just a little bar fight. I had it completely under control.”

            The angel squinted his eyes at her, “Why must you always get into fights while I’m not there?”

            Talia scoffed, “Because it would defeat the whole purpose of a fight if you teleported in and started threatening to smite everyone in the room.”  She laughed as she recalled the memory of a time when he’d just done that and she’d had to drag him out of the bar while laughing uncontrollably at people’s reactions. “It’s no fun when you’re there to stop me.”

            The sound of Talia’s ringtone going off interrupted Castiel from continuing the argument although she could see him give her another disappointed look before she reached over to see that, big surprise, Sam was calling her.  Talia rolled her eyes and hit ignore before placing her phone back on the nightstand.  Sam didn’t seem to understand her desire for him to leave her alone.

            He’d called her repeatedly the first night she left and it wasn’t until a couple days later when she finally relented and listened to one of the dozens of voicemails he left in which he frantically asked where the hell she was and if she was okay.  She’d texted him to say she was fine and to leave her alone and then had turned her phone off completely, not turning it back on for a whole week.

            It had been an especially low night for her and she’d drunkenly hoped that Dean had called her to apologize or say that she should come back but instead, she’d only seen a thousand more messages from Sam demanding she call him and explain where she was.  She’d angrily dialed Sam’s number and she didn’t remember exactly what she’d said when she’d ranted to him in slightly slurred words but she was pretty sure at one point she was crying before she slammed her phone shut.

            After that night, Talia had refused to talk to Sam except for the occasional text every few days to let him know she was still alive and she would ignore him for days if he even mentioned Dean in any context.  He never stopped calling her though and she had to give him points for persistence.

            “Isn’t protocol usually to answer your phone when it rings?” Castiel asked her as her phone went off again, flashing Sam’s number up at them.

            Talia glared over at him, “You’ve been spending too much time with me.” She noted, “I’m not going to talk to him.”

            Castiel gave her a look, “I thought Dean was the brother you were mad at.” When Talia nodded that he had it right he looked confused, “Then why don’t you wish to speak with Sam if you aren’t upset at him. What if it’s important? One of them could be in danger and you would never know because you stubbornly refused to answer your phone.”

            “I hate it when you use your objective logic with me.” Talia complained with a frown of annoyance before huffing and reaching over to answer her phone just before it stopped ringing. “Hi, Sam.” She said tersely. No one said she had to be nice about it.

            There was a moment of shocked silence as if Sam couldn’t believe that she’d actually returned his phone call before he quietly whispered, “Hold on a second.”  There was myriad of muffled noises coming from his side and then the slamming of a door before Sam spoke again, “You still there?”

            “Yeah,” Talia replied in amusement, “What the hell was that all about? You called me and then tell me to wait as soon as I pick up?”

            “How was I supposed to know you’d actually answer this time?” Sam pointed out, “I just had to leave the motel room real quick to get away from Dean.”

            Talia was glad Sam couldn’t see the small flinch she gave at the mention of his name and she quickly covered her discomfort with a joke. “Big brother not too happy that you’re still talking to me huh? Wouldn’t want me to think I was a part of your lives at all would we” She let out a humorless laugh.

            “No, that’s not it at all. It’s just-” Sam hurriedly tried to defend his brother but couldn’t seem to find any words and there was an awkward silence before he told her, “He’s a mess without you, I’m really worried that he’s-”

            “Sam.” Talia cut him off sharply, “If you called just to talk about your brother then I swear I will hang up on you right now.”

            “No, please don’t! I haven’t talked to you in forever and that’s not why I called. I wanted to make sure you were okay and see how you were doing.” Sam ended his statement in a questioning tone.

            “Well, besides a massive hangover, I’m doing okay.” Talia joked weakly and then asked tentatively, “Uh, how are…how are things with you?”

            “That’s actually what I called you to talk about.” Sam said before going off on a story about the case he and his brother had just worked involving a boy named Max whose mother had died when he was six years old in a mysterious nursery fire, just like Sam’s.  Talia listened in stunned silence as Sam described how Max had discovered he had telekinetic powers and had used them to kill his father and uncle who beat him regularly.

            Sam’s voice became hesitant as he described how he’d gotten a vision of Dean being shot in the head by Max and then Sam had been able to move the dresser trapping him with his mind, freeing himself in time to save Dean but not before Max had killed himself.  Talia could hear the emotion clogging Sam’s throat as he finished his tale.

            “He was just like me, Talia, and he used his abilities to _kill_ people. Sure, those people were far from innocent but still…” He trailed off before he fearfully asking, “What if that becomes me? What if one day I go crazy and kill you and Dean? What if all these freak abilities mean that I’m just another monster that needs to be hunted down?”

            Talia was utterly dumbfounded and she couldn’t find any words to say. How could she comfort him when he was voicing all the doubts and worries she herself had felt?  Doubts that she still struggled with.  She was still trying to come to terms with just how similar the stories of the deaths of both Sam and Max’s mothers were when she heard Sam speak up softly once more, directing his words more to himself than at her.

            “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” Sam chuckled drily, “I guess I just figured you of all people would understand at least some of what I’m going through.  It’s kinda ironic considering how poorly we used to get along and now you’re the only one I can talk to about this.”

            “Sam.” Talia breathed out his name, halting him from continuing as she struggled to put her jumbled thoughts and feelings into words, wanting more than anything to reassure the younger Winchester and do whatever it took to get rid of the pain and torment she heard in his voice. “You are not a monster.  Who you are is not defined by what you are capable of. You are not defined by the powers you have but by what you chose to do with them.”

            “This Max, he chose to become a murderer, not because he had crazy superpowers but because he let himself be overwhelmed by a desire for revenge. But you…you didn’t and you won’t because that’s not you, Sam, and no amount of strange abilities or powers will be able to change who you are as a person or what choices you decide to make.”

            Talia didn’t know how much she truly needed to believe in her own words until she’d finished her little speech.  She’d been struggling to come to terms with what she’d been capable of when using her own abilities and Castiel had been helping her to accept that her powers were not something to fear if she learned control.  She only wished she was able to help Sam in the same way but whatever was up with him, it was nothing like her own angelic grace, that much was clear.

            She was so caught up in her own thoughts that Talia almost didn’t catch Sam’s response. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

            Talia tried to dodge away from more emotional talk with a joke. “Yeah, well how about you just promise me that next time you’ll ask your brother for a pep talk.”  She continued in a more serious tone, “He may not be able to understand what you’re going through but he’s going to be right by your side the whole time.”  Talia felt her own emotions creeping up and cut herself off before she ventured into dangerous territory unfortunately Sam seemed to catch it anyways.

            “Talia, you have to talk to him and fix this. You’re both miserable.”

            “He made it very clear how he felt, Sam.” Talia retorted angrily, “I’m perfectly fine on my own. This is for the best.” She heard Sam start to argue again but she ended the phone call before she could hear him try to persuade her to come back.  Talia turned to give Castiel a look, “There, I talked to him. You happy now?”

            Castiel just grinned smugly at her and she rolled her eyes at him as she stood up to throw all her belongings back into her bag.  When she finished, she walked through the door and looked over her shoulder to call to the angel who was patiently waiting in the middle of the room, “Come on, buddy, we got some more monsters to hunt.”


	41. Chapter 41

            Sam sighed as he heard the telltale click of Talia hanging up on him.  Pocketing his phone, he ducked back into the motel room nonchalantly thanking his lucky stars that Dean didn’t seem to question his sudden disappearance.  The last time Dean had found him trying to talk to Talia, his older brother had been furious and informed Sam that _she_ was the one that left and Sam had no business trying to contact her.

            The youngest Winchester had recognized that his brother was not in the mood to be reasoned with so he’d let the matter go without argument although he continued to stay in touch with Talia despite his brother’s wishes. Sam had to at least know if she was still alive and he knew that despite what Dean would say, he still cared about his best friend.

            Sam pushed his worries about his brother and Talia aside and focused on the issue at hand.  After talking with Talia, he realized he had to tell Dean about what had happened when he’d been trapped in the closet by Max.  Sam was concerned how his brother would take it considering the foul mood he’d been in ever since the night Talia left but he knew that she was right.  Dean was his brother, and if Sam couldn’t talk about this with him, then what else did he have.

            Mustering up the courage, he called out to his older brother and brought up his thoughts about the parallels between himself and Max and the possible motivations the demon could have for killing their mothers and Jessica.  When he finally mentioned how he’d moved an entire cabinet with just his mind, Sam expected the usual outburst from Dean but instead he was faced with only calm acceptance.

            Sam’s ire rose at how easily his brother seemed to take this news of what he was capable of. Sure, Talia had been understanding but considering her own unique abilities her sympathy was to be expected. Dean was the one that was supposed to freak out and worry over what the hell was wrong with his little brother but instead he just listened to Sam’s words with that same eerily tranquil demeanor. 

            Dean had been acting like this for weeks now, like nothing phased him and Sam knew his brother was just burying all feelings inside himself like he always did and Sam only wished he knew how to break down the walls that Dean had erected.  Familiar walls that took shape in Dean relentlessly applying himself to hunting, spending every spare moment in the nearest bar, and avoiding all conversation even remotely involved any personal emotion.

            “Aren’t you worried man?” Sam snapped, trying to get some sort of reaction from Dean, “Aren’t you worried I could turn into Max or something?”

            “Nope. No way.” Dean smirked self-assuredly, “You know why?”

            “No. Why?”

            “Cause you got one advantage that Max didn’t have.” Dean explained simply.

            Sam’s brow furrowed in confusion, “Dad?” He wondered before correcting, “Because Dad’s not here Dean.”

            “No.” Dean chided, still smirking, “Me. As long as I’m around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you.”

            Sam glared at Dean in utter bewilderment, unable to comprehend how the man before him could be so devoted to protecting him and yet be the same person that had berated Talia and told her she meant nothing to him.  It was infuriating and frankly, confusing as hell. “And who does Talia have?” Sam inquired bitterly, noting how his brother flinched slightly at her name, “Who’s gonna be there for her and keep her from becoming the next Max?”

            Once he started, Sam found that he couldn’t stop the words flooding from his mouth as he continued to rant at his brother, releasing all the pent-up frustration of the past weeks. “She’s been dealing with all of this on her own and if there was ever a time for her to need a best friend, someone to keep her sane, it’s right now. So, Dean, who does she have? Cause you clearly aren’t there to stop anything bad from happening to _her_.”

            “Talia was the one that walked out the door, Sam, not me.” Dean declared emotionlessly and Sam couldn’t figure out why his brother was acting so weird.  There should have been some anger at his best friend leaving, regardless of the argument, but instead Sam swore he saw satisfaction in Dean’s face. Like he was happy that Talia was gone.

            Realization struck Sam like a ton of bricks and everything began to fall into place.  All of Dean’s odd emotions and his out of character behavior, including all the horrible insults he’d thrown at Talia, made perfect sense. Dean _wanted_ Talia to leave them and he’d purposefully driven her away. But he hadn’t really wanted to do it, that much was clear by Dean isolating himself, it was his go to tactic whenever he was upset.

            This only left the question as to why in the hell Dean had driven away the closest friend he had.  Sam felt even more bewildered than before. It couldn’t have been just because she kept the packet a secret from him; it had to be more than that.  He felt Dean give him an odd look as Sam tried to process this new thought in his head and he must have been giving Dean a weird look because the eldest Winchester narrowed his eyes.

            “What are you looking at me like that for?”

            “You did it on purpose.  You wanted her to leave.” Sam said and Dean quickly schooled his emotions but Sam caught the slight break in the mask that revealed the anguish within. He didn’t understand why, if Dean missed her so much, that he had driven her away in the first place and there was only confusion in his voice as he asked simply, “Why Dean?”

            Dean grimaced and looked at the ground before replying, “I had to, Sammy. It was the only thing I could think of to do.”

            “To do what?” Sam questioned in exasperation. “Why did you want her to leave?”

            “I had to get her away from us…from me.” Dean admitted softly, “She doesn’t belong in this life.”

            “You’ve never had a problem with her hunting before.” Sam pointed out. “What changed?”  
           

            “There was never another option before, Sammy.” Dean told him, “But then I saw the packet and realized there was an escape for her. Talia could have moved far away, become a doctor and left this life far behind her.” Dean looked up, emotion heavy in his gaze. “She would have been, safe and happy.”

            “She deserves so much better than this life and I wanted her to get away before she got killed.” Dean gave Sam a hard look as he added, “You saw how many times she’s gotten seriously hurt in the short time the three of us have been hunting again.  This family is cursed, Sam, and everyone that I care about always gets hurt in the end. She shouldn’t get dragged down too just because she feels obligated to help us find Dad.”

            Sam scoffed while he rubbed his face in frustration, “You are an idiot if you think that’s the reason why she came with you.” He gave his brother a glare as he added, “Also, quit saying family like Talia isn’t a part of ours, she’s been a Winchester since long before she lost her father.”

            Dean crossed his arms defensively, “Well it doesn’t matter now, she’s gone and living a normal life.” 

            Sam desperately wanted to tell Dean just how wrong he was and that Talia was still hunting but something told him that this wasn’t the time to share that tidbit of information. He’d already gotten more out of his brother than he thought and he didn’t want to push his limits.  So, he kept his mouth shut and let Dean switch topics as he brought up information they’d found about a new potential case involving mysterious disappearances in Minnesota.

* * *

 

            A sinister smile spread on Talia’s face as she faced the abandoned mansion in front of her and pulled the machete out of her bag.  There was a small coven of vampires inside, according to the information she gathered, and she was looking forward to hunting them.  Gripping her weapon tightly in her hand, she shut the trunk to the car she’d stolen a few days ago and prepared for the fight ahead of her.

            The windows of the building were boarded up but she could see light filtering through the gaps in the wood and she knew that someone was home.  There was no one outside so Talia approached the house directly, figuring the bloodsuckers were too confident to worry about having anyone keep watch.

            The front door creaked slightly as she slid it open, her blade raised readily in front of her as she slipped into the foyer of the building.  The room was empty but she saw light further down the hallway where there was the sound of laughter and faint cries of pain.  Hurrying forward, Talia peeked around the side of the doorframe to see two vamps huddled around the figure of a young girl who was tied to a chair, crying while they taunted her.

            Talia was enraged as she saw the bite marks littering the girl’s neck and charged into the room without a second thought, whipping her blade into one vampire’s head and neatly beheading it in one fell swoop.  The second vampire was quick to react and she was forced to duck to the side to avoid a blow and it came at her again, giving her barely enough time to recover.

            She took a swing at its head but it dodged back and her blade left a cut across it’s collarbone instead, causing it to hiss in pain.  Lunging forward with its fangs out, the vampire tackled Talia to the ground and she grunted as she slammed into the floor, losing her grip on her machete.  The vampire grinned menacingly down at her and darted its mouth for her neck but Talia thrust her arm against its neck, pushing hard to keep it back while her left hand grasped desperately for her weapon.

            Finally, her fingers found the familiar wooden handle and with a shout, Talia shoved the vampire off her just enough to give left arm enough room to swing forward.  The vampire’s head thumped to the ground a second later and Talia scrambled to her feet, sure there had to be more vampires around.

            Sure enough, when she turned about to check on the human girl, she was horrified to see another male vampire holding the girl captive in his arms, mouth poised just above her neck and ready to drain her of all her blood.  “Why don’t you go ahead and put the blade down or this little girl is gonna lose what blood she has left.”  He glared at Talia as he shook the girl pinned to his chest, causing her to let out a shrill cry of terror.

            Talia smirked at him and instead of listening to his demands, she raised her blade to the exposed flesh of her palm and drew it slowly across her skin.  Blood immediately welled up and ran down her hand to drip onto the floor in a steady stream.  She saw his pupils dilate and hunger etched across his face while his gaze zeroed in on the flow of blood from her hand.

            One important fact she’d learned in her conversations with Castiel is that her blood, a mixture of human and angel, was intoxicating to vampires, and many other creatures.  Even the more disciplined vampires went crazy at its scent and Talia was not surprised at all when the vampire shoved aside the girl in his arms without a thought before diving towards her.

            She was however surprised when three more vampires came surging into the room from somewhere else in the mansion and she was suddenly faced with four vampires attacking her in an animalistic frenzy.  She was grateful that her blood was driving them to all focus on her and they left the girl lying on the floor alone but it also meant that she had to deal with four amped up bloodsuckers at once.

            The enticing scent of her blood also meant that the vampires were fighting off pure instinct and their movements were uncoordinated and not rational; none of them tried teaming up together to all attack her at once.  Even so, Talia was slowly forced backwards in order to dodge their attacks and she took a couple blows as she narrowly avoided being grabbed. 

            Suddenly, her felt her back hit a wall but instead of allowing herself to feel fear, she reached within herself and summoned her grace, just as Castiel taught her, channeling a tiny portion of it to flow through her body.  It was like a boost of adrenaline that gave her reflexes an extra edge and she dodged a swipe from a vampire easily before taking advantage of the opening to rid the creature of its head.

            Talia was charged by the remaining vampires and she didn’t stop to think, she just let her instinct and training take over as she fought.  Even with the aid of her grace, she soon realized that she’d underestimated the strength of the vampires obsessed with hunger that was elevated by her angelic blood that still ran down her hand.  Talia found herself forced to channel more of her grace as the fight dragged on and she took a couple hard blows and she knew her eyes were glowing with the familiar blue light. 

            She was nervous about channeling this much of her power, she wasn’t sure if she could keep it under control. Just as Talia managed to knock one down with a well-placed kick to the legs and when she swung her blade down to behead it, she heard a voice declare:

            “I’m so sorry.” 

            Shock flooded her body and Talia looked around frantically, scanning the room.  She knew that voice better than her own; that was Dean’s voice.  In her momentary distraction, she was flung across the room to smack into a wall with a sickening crack and she fell to the floor in a daze.

            Was she going mad? She swore she’d just heard Dean speak as clearly as if he’d been standing right next to her but he wasn’t here and it was impossible for him to know where she was. Confusion clouded her thoughts and Talia barely managed to focus on the two creatures running towards where she lay slumped against the wall.

            She pulled herself to her feet and noticed that she’d lost her grasp on her grace once her concentration had broken and when she tried to pull on it again, it didn’t respond.  Instead, she felt it tugging on _her_ in a persistent fashion, as if demanding she follow its pull towards somewhere.  She tried to take a step towards the approaching vampires, which happened to be in the opposite direction of the pull, but she found herself physically unable to move away from the tether of her grace.

            Petrified, Talia didn’t know what to make of this new development and she did the only thing she could think of and called out for Castiel, praying he would hear her and save her before she became vampire chow.  She flinched away just as the vampires were about to reach her but then there was a familiar rustling of wings and a second later she opened her eyes to see two more bodies lying on the floor, headless.

            “Castiel, thank god you heard me.” She sighed in relief, and then joked lightly “I’ve been food for vampires enough for one lifetime.”  

            Castiel just stared at her emotionlessly, “You should not have needed my assistance, why were you not using you grace?”

            “I was,” Talia explained, “But then, out of nowhere I heard a voice in my head, Dean’s voice, and I swear it sounded like he was in the room with me. And if that isn’t crazy enough, now I keep feeling this pulling sensation from my grace like it wants me to go somewhere and I can’t move anywhere else.”

            To Talia’s utter shock, instead of concern, Castiel’s face lit up with a smile as he exclaimed, “This is wonderful, your abilities are growing stronger.”  When he noticed the bewilderment on her face he elaborated, “You must have tapped into angel radio when you were using your powers.”

            “Dude, that doesn’t explain anything!” Talia exclaimed in nervous desperation as she was still unable to move, “What the hell is wrong with me?! What happened?”

            “Angels have the ability to hear whenever someone is praying to us; it’s why I can hear you whenever you call for me. You must have heard Dean praying to you.”

            At this, Talia scoffed in disbelief, “Yeah, like Dean would ever even think to pray to me.  Besides, I only heard one line, and he never even said my name. Now all I feel is this weird sensation like I need to be somewhere else, like I have to be somewhere.”

            “A prayer doesn’t always have to be a direct thought, Talia. Sometimes it is a subconscious longing or calling out and whether or not the person is aware of it, we can still hear them. It is part of our duty as angels of the lord.”

            Talia didn’t know what to do with this information, “So…what do I do know? Am I forced to respond to every prayer I hear; is that why my grace is acting like this?”

            “No.” Castiel frowned, “That I cannot explain, it is most unusual. I’ve never heard of an angel being so strongly pulled to answer a prayer like this.”

            Talia scowled but then focused her mind internally to her grace and instead of fighting it, she followed its pull in her mind, following its invisible line until with a gasp she realized what was happening.  On the other end of the line she saw a familiar glowing orb, small but not indiscernible, it was the piece of her grace that resided within Dean and it was blaring in alarm, calling out to its other half.

            She felt the anguish of the two lights that were separated by such a great distance and for the first time Talia noticed an aching in her soul as the two pieces reached for one another, longing to be whole once more.  The sensation had been masked because she had refused to allow her grace this much freedom but now it overwhelmed her as she finally was able to tap into angel radio and therefore feel the thin thread that connected the two pieces of her grace.

            Talia suddenly sensed the reason for the alarm that was calling her towards Dean as she felt a flash of pain through his piece of grace and she realized he was in trouble.  She didn’t know what was going on, all she knew was that every fiber of her being was pulling her to save him and without thinking she reached forward to the glowing light in her mind’s eyes, following the pull of her grace. The ball slowly morphed into the print of her hand, overlaying his heart where she had healed him once before and she felt her own hand illuminate just before the two met and in an instant, darkness masked her vision and then she was gone.


	42. Chapter 42

            Everything surrounding her was unfamiliar and Talia was completely disoriented as she tried to take stock of her new environment.  She was standing outside a worn down, but well-maintained house in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere and a light rain was falling down.  She was in a daze, she couldn’t believe she’d actually managed to teleport somewhere like that and she was confused as to why her grace had drawn her here until she looked through the window in front of her.

            Inside the home she saw a room that was covered in dirt, with trash littered around and a furnace standing against one wall. All of these details became unimportant when she saw Dean tied down to a chair in front of the furnace and surrounded by an old man, two middle-aged men and a young girl who all looked like they belonged in a picture next to the dictionary definition of redneck.  It was hard to see through the grime coating the window but she noted a stream of blood that ran all the way down his face from a cut above his right eye.

            They group was talking and then a moment later, one of the younger men stepped forward to punch Dean across the face, hard.  Talia felt a spark of anger ignite her grace at seeing Dean and her alarm grew as she watched the two men restrain Dean’s head while the older man withdrew a poker from the fire and loomed over her best friend. 

            As if it could sense her nearby presence, and the danger he was in, Dean’s grace flared up in alarm, even stronger than she’d sensed before.  Her own grace responded in kind and the two parts of a whole strained towards each other desperately.  Talia’s grace began leaking out of its cage and swam through her blood and she fearfully tried to reign it in before she lost control but a moment later, Dean shouted out in pain as the searing hot poker was pressed into his skin.

            In that moment, Talia stopped fighting as burning fury erupted within her and she released the floodgates, letting her grace take over.  She was inside the room an instant later but this time, there was no human thoughts of confusion or disorientation; now she was alight with angelic grace and power.  Talia was shining with the light of her power and she dominated the room, overshadowing the cowering humans who trembled before her wrathful figure.

            Talia summoned an angel blade into her hand, reigning in her angelic aura until the room was no longer blindingly illuminated and the men slowly recovered from where they’d fallen back onto the ground.  She didn’t allow them time to fully stand before she was upon them and in a rage, cutting them all down in a flurry of slashing silver.  Mere moments later, the three men lay dead and only young girl remained.  She faced Talia, whose arms were covered in blood, and held a knife in her small, trembling hands.

            Talia stalked towards the girl, who stood between her and Dean, easily knocking aside the child’s weak attempt at striking her and then pressed her fingers to the girl’s temple, knocking her out instantly.  Marching forward, Talia approached Dean who was sitting frozen in the chair, staring at her in absolute shock.  She didn’t say a word as she crouched down and placed her hand over his heart, feeling for the grace within his chest.

            Utter relief swamped her when she felt it respond to her touch and the two pieces of light reached for one another. As they reunited, a soft glow emanated from the point of contact where Talia’s hand touched Dean’s chest.  A wave of contentment and warmth swept through her and Talia saw Dean close his eyes while she sighed at the feeling of rightness that this moment brought.  It was only now that her anger subsided and her power drew back to its resting place in her chest where it hovered contently.

            “Who the hell are you?” Dean’s question dragged Talia’s attention upwards to see him staring at her in a mixture of confusion and appraisement.  The emotions were puzzling to Talia and now that she was sure he was safe, she suddenly remembered that she was mad at him.

            Turning her face away in anger, Talia huffed, “Pretending not to know me now, Dean? That’s low even for you.” She reached around his chair to cut his hands free with her knife and then stepped back to let him stand up.  As she made it to her feet, she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her as her extensive use of her powers caught up to her all at once and she stumbled slightly.  Using that much power in such a short amount of time had taken a lot out of her.

            Dean’s arms reached out to steady her and he observed jokingly, “Passing out now would kind of ruin that badass entrance you just made.” His playful smirk dropped as he narrowed his eyes at her until he exclaimed, “Talia! What the hell?”

            Talia pushed away from him to stand somewhat steadily on her own two feet, “Oh, so you’ve decided to recognize me, now?” She glared at him as she crossed her arms.

            “What? I-” Dean stumbled over his words as his mouth moved up and down in silent shock and she swore she saw a tinge of red in his cheeks but she ignored it.

            Talia wasn’t in the mood to talk to him despite not having seen him in months, all she could think about when she looked at his face was the terrible things he’d said to her and it stung more than she wanted to admit. She just wanted to make sure Sam was okay and then leave before Dean reminded her that he didn’t want her there.

            Walking away from Dean’s stunned form, Talia marched determinedly through the doorway in the direction of the human souls she’d sensed earlier when she’d been channeling her grace.  She assumed one of them was Sam and that he was in some sort of trouble since he hadn’t come to rescue Dean yet.

            “Talia, wait! How did you just do all that? And how did you know where we were?” Dean called out as he chased after her down the hallway but she continued to ignore him.

            When she entered the next room, she saw rows of human sized cages lining the floor and two of them were occupied.  One by a young woman that Talia didn’t recognize and another contained Sam who turned towards her as she walked forward.  Talia was relieved to see he appeared to be unharmed and she headed towards the cage to try and unlock it only to find no visible lock on the door.

            Sam breathed out in relief when he spotted his brother, “Dean, you’re okay! Who’s your friend, here?”

            At this, Talia looked up with a brow raised skeptically, “Seriously, Sam. Not you too.  This whole, pretending not to know me thing isn’t funny and frankly I don’t have the patience for it right now.”  She focused back on the cage door and heard Dean working on the cage which held the woman.

            “Talia,” Sam said in realization, “Is that you?”

            “No,” Talia spat out sarcastically, “I’m just some strange woman who knows your names and randomly showed up to save your asses. Yes, it’s me, idiot.”

            “Wow, it’s just-“ Sam hesitated, “Have you looked in a mirror lately? Cause your eyes-“ Sam’s words cut off as his eyes widened in horror as he stared at something over her shoulder. Talia turned to see a man leering down at her as he held a shotgun pointed down at her.

            “Why don’t you stand up nice and slow.” The man ordered and she rolled her eyes but left her angel blade on the ground while rising slowly to her feet with her hands lifted in mock surrender.  She was about to step forward and attack the man when Dean’s voice called out in alarm:

            “Talia!”  His shout startled Talia enough to pause for a moment and that hesitation lost her the element of surprise.  Next thing she knew, the armed man was pulling her roughly in front of him to face Dean while he pressed his shotgun against her back. Talia winced slightly as her torso erupted in pain at the pressure; she might have cracked a rib or two earlier when she’d been thrown into the wall by the vampires.

            Dean’s eyes widened in alarm when he saw the gun pointed at Talia and then he narrowed them angrily at the man behind her.  “You might wanna rethink your decision because if you hurt her, I’ll be the one hunting you.”

            “You’re not in any position to be making threats.”  The man replied and emphasized his statement by pushing his gun harder into Talia’s back, pressing it right against a rib that she was now certain was broken.  The sudden agony startled Talia and she couldn’t suppress a cry of pain that slipped from her lips. Dean’s face darkened at the noise and she saw his entire body twitch forward slightly as if he wanted to dart towards her but he didn’t dare move.

            Staring straight into her eyes, Dean declared, “I’m going to get you out of this, I promise. You’re going to be just fine, I won’t let anything happen to you.” His words were meant to be soothing but Talia was infuriated by his tone which implied her own helplessness.

            “Who said I needed your help?” She sneered at him and then spun, slamming her forearm into the gun, knocking it aside just as the man fired a round, but the bullets flew harmlessly to the side.  She cursed the fact that her angel blade was lying on the ground next to Sam’s cage but after her bout with vampires, a hand to hand fight with a normal human would be easy.

            Talia used the surprise of her attack to step forward and deliver a punch to the man’s left cheekbone. Unable to put her full power behind it because of her broken rib, the man was still standing after the blow and he frantically backed up as he tried to reload his gun. 

            Pulling a bit on her grace to mask the pain in her torso, Talia felt a small boost of energy and she smirked with a tilt of her head as she watched the human’s trembling fingers fumble bullets. “Guess I didn’t kill the entire family after all?” She shrugged casually, “Oh well, I will just have to remedy that problem.”

            The man had nearly finished reloading as Talia got closer but she wasn’t worried, with her grace all she needed was skin contact and he’d be dead. She was about to touch him when there was a loud shout and Dean came flying over, tackling the man just before he could pull his finger down on the trigger of his gun. Both men went flying to the side as the explosive sound of a gunfire echoed in the enclosed space. 

            Talia marched forward in a rage, pulling Dean away from the man, “Dammit, I told you I didn’t need any help.” Her link with the grace in him told her he was fine, the shot had missed him, so she pushed him to the side and leaned over the last remaining son of a family who had threatened and hurt her best friend too many times for her taste. 

            “Send my regards to your family.” She muttered before pressing her entire palm to the man’s forehead and pushing her grace out her hand and into him, much like she had the night she’d almost killed Sue Ann before the reaper had stopped her.  This time though, she wasn’t going to stop until she’d ended this fight.

            Talia struggled with her exhaustion as she sent her grace through the man’s body, burning its way through the pathways of his body.  She’d used so much of her power recently and it took a lot out of her but the swirling emotions that clouded her mind gave her the energy to push through until she was sure the last remaining threat was dealt with.

            The familiar blue flare of her power finally faded and Talia was kneeling over a lifeless body. She withdrew her hand slowly and then stared down at the man’s face only to find a pair of burnt, empty sockets gazing back at her where his eyes once stood.  It was like she had fried him from the inside out and Talia couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight as something in her mind clicked.

            Suddenly, she was eight years old again and instead of some nameless man, it was her father lying beneath her, the same blackened holes peering up at her.  She cried out in shock and scrambled backwards on all fours as the memories overwhelmed her of the night her father died and she finally made the connection.

            The corpse in front of her looked exactly like her father had, and that burning energy that had nearly overwhelmed was something she could now put a name to.  Her grace, she’d unknowingly used her grace to kill her father and left him a burnt-out husk, just like the man lying before her on the ground, his empty eye sockets staring at her judgingly. All other thoughts fled from her mind and she could think of nothing else but that one horrifying thought as it repeated incessantly.

_I killed him. I killed him._

            Talia didn’t realize she was saying it aloud until she vaguely heard her name being called, Dean’s voice sounding distant in her numb state and she slowly turned her gaze to stare at him, her eyes glassy with shock.  She was surprised to find that her cheeks were dry and despite the myriad of emotions she felt, she was too frozen to shed a single tear.

            All she could do was stare up at Dean in despair as she continued to chant in a hoarse whisper; repeating it over and over until it became not a realization but an admission of her sins.  She spoke like a repentant sinner in confessional, hoping that by simply voicing her crimes she could be freed of the guilt.

            Dean crouched down in front of her, looking utterly confused and she noticed his lips moving but she didn’t hear him speaking.  When she didn’t respond, Dean moved as if to stand up and this scared Talia out of her stupor as she jolted forward to grip him desperately, not wanting him to leave her yet.

            Talia knew she didn’t deserve his comfort but for just a moment she wanted to pretend like she had never left, like everything was normal.  To her utter relief, Dean wrapped his arms around her and let her bury her face into his shoulder as her ragged voice finally ceased its mantra while she took comfort in the embrace of her best friend.

            She didn’t understand why he wasn’t pushing her away and this confusion added to the feelings that overwhelmed her mind and between the emotional and physical exhaustion, Talia felt empty of all sparks of life.  When she felt her mind begin to shut down, too short on energy to process everything, she willingly embraced the swamping darkness and the promise of respite from the horrors haunting her.

* * *

 

            Dean was confused when Talia’s grip went lax and then he pulled back to see that she was out cold.  He stared at her limp body in complete confusion, not sure he had any idea what had just happened.  The events of the last few minutes felt surreal and dream-like as if any minute now he’d wake up back in a motel room.

            Sam’s voice calling out his name finally shook him out of his stupor and when he finally turned towards where his brother was locked in his cage, Sam gave him a look like he’d been trying to get his attention for a while.

            “Sorry, Sammy.” Dean apologized before walking over to flip the switch that released the latches on all the cages.  As soon as he’d helped Sam up, Dean immediately went back to where Talia was lying on the ground, every instinct within him pushing him to make sure she was safe. 

            He felt Sam staring at him oddly but he didn’t pay it any attention as he knelt down and wrapped an arm around her back while using his other to hold up her legs before he heaved upwards and lifted Talia into his arms to carry her out.  He left Sam to deal with the female cop that had been trapped in the other cage and the aftermath of Talia’s killing spree through the house.

            Looking down at the woman in his arms, Dean was stunned by just how different she looked. A lot had changed in just three months.  What struck him the most was the dark bags beneath her eyes that spoke of an exhaustion so deep that not even the tranquility of sleep could brush the marks away. 

            He felt a pang of guilt at the thought that she might be suffering because of what he said and he clutched her tighter to him, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, the sound muffled by her hair as he repeated the same phrase he’d invoked when he’d been captured and thought he wouldn’t make it out alive.  Dean wondered if he’d ever have the guts to say those words to her face.

            Dean realized he had a conundrum when he walked out of the back of the house and remembered that the Impala was back at the police station and they didn’t have a ride back unless the hitched one with the police woman.  Thankfully, Sam and the cop walked out a minute later, the latter holding a walkie-talkie in her hand as she was informed by dispatch that backup was on its way.

            “I think the car’s at the police station.” Dean told Sam, slight annoyance peeking into his voice.

            “So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour.” The cop explained before Sam could reply, “They’re going to want to talk to you and I suggest you’re both long gone by then.”

            Dean nodded in agreement before asking, “Thanks. I don’t mean to press our luck, but we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere.” He looked at her hopefully, “Any chance we could catch a ride?”

            “I can’t, I need to be here when backup arrives. So, start walking, and duck if you see a squad car.” Her sarcastic tone gentled as she looked at Talia lying limp in Dean’s arms and she added, “I hope she’s okay.”

            “Yeah,” Dean said, looking down at his best friend, “Me too.”  He and Sam said their goodbyes and then the two of them headed down the dirt path away from the house, walking at a brisk pace to put as much distance as possible between them and the building before more cops arrived.

            Sam offered to carry Talia for a bit but Dean quickly refused, gripping onto her possessively and responding that he was fine.  It was his responsibility to take care of her and he’d been doing a shitty job of it lately but this, this he could handle.  Sam let the matter drop but then asked:

            “How in the hell did she get here anyways?”

            Dean furrowed his brow as he recalled the moment, “I don’t know, Sam. One moment I’m tied to a chair surrounded by crazies, and then she’s standing in the middle room. She came out of nowhere, literally.” He recounted all the events that had taken place up until the moment when Talia and Dean had entered the room where Sam had been trapped.

            Both brothers fell silent at the end of the tale and Sam looked thoughtful before he noted, “You said she wasn’t fazed at killing the three men that were interrogating you, but after killing the last guy she seemed to go into shock…I don’t understand.” Sam looked to his older brother, searching for an answer but Dean shook his head in disbelief.

            “I don’t know, man. I’m just as lost as you. She just kept saying ‘I killed him’ over and over.”  He seemed thoughtful before speculating, “Do you think it has something to do with her…abilities? Are they anything like yours?”

            Sam sighed, “Clearly whatever is going on with her is nothing like what I can do. I mean the way she killed that man…Dean, it was like she burned him from the inside. I definitely can’t do anything like that.”

            Dean huffed, “Guess it’d be too easy if we were only dealing with one set of freak powers.” Sam snorted in amused agreement and the two walked along in silence, the cold brisk night air making the puffs of their breathing visible before them. 

            It took them a couple hours to make it back to town and the rising sun peeking above the horizon greeted them as they walked along the main street.  Dean’s arms ached with the burden of Talia’s deadweight that he refused to share with Sam and his aching arms remained wrapped around her tightly.  His mind seemed to think that by keeping her in his embrace he could stop her from leaving again and even though he was the one that wanted her to leave in the first place he wasn’t sure he was ready to see her go again.

            Sam watched his brother set the girl in his arms down with extreme caution and look down at her with such a tender gaze that he couldn’t help but ask, “Dean, what exactly are you going to do now?”

            Dean sighed heavily, dejectedly threading his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know Sammy, I don’t know.” He sank heavily into a chair, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him. “She won’t stay here once she wakes up, not after all that I said. She probably hates me.”

            “Yeah,” Sam agreed, “but you’re her best friend. She’ll forgive you.”

            “You didn’t see the way she looked at me.” Dean argued, “When she could even bear to look at me it was like she despised me. I’m her best friend, and I knew exactly what to say, what weak spots to hit, to get her to leave.” He looked anguished as he continued, “That’s not something I can fix with a simple apology.”

            “No, but maybe if you told her how you really feel.” Sam saw his brother open his mouth to deny it or to pretend to not know what he was talking about but Sam cut him off before he could. “Dean, just don’t. You’ve been acting different with Talia since the moment you picked me up at Stanford and you’ve been hopeless since she left. Based on everything I’ve seen, the two of you are lost when you’re not together.”

            Dean glared at his younger brother, clearly uncomfortable with this topic of conversation as he tried to deflect, “Doesn’t mean I have any ‘feelings’” He made air quotes sarcastically around the word, “that I need to admit.”

            Sam’s exasperation rose, “Right after Talia left, we worked that case with your old girlfriend Cassie and she was practically all over you but you didn’t even give her the time of day.” Sam continued listing evidence, “You were insanely jealous when Talia was with that guy Lorenzo awhile back and I haven’t seen you seriously flirt with a girl in months.”

            Dean stared at his younger brother in shock and Sam noted a hint of a blush coloring his cheeks as he called him out. “Wow Sammy,” Dean joked, “I didn’t think you were that invested in my love life.”

            “You’re my brother, Dean, and Talia’s basically like my sister. Of course I care.” Sam hardened his gaze, “So, you need to fix whatever is broken between you two before she leaves for good this time.”

            Dean didn’t respond and just turned to stare down at where Talia was lying on the bed, scared to admit to himself just how terrifying the thought of her leaving his life forever was.  He remembered the feeling he got when they’d reunited and she’d pressed her hand to his chest as if to assure herself that he was there and alive.  He’d felt a surge of energy, like he was glowing, and the feeling of being whole for the first time in three months had overwhelmed him.

            It wasn’t until that moment that he’d truly acknowledged just how much Talia’s departure had affected him.  He’d told himself that it was for the best and he was happy she would be away from him where she’d be safe but her absence had left a darkness in him that he couldn’t chase away.  In that moment, he knew that even if Talia hated him forever, he had to stop her from leaving again because Sam was right, she was family.


	43. Chapter 43

            Talia dreamt of the night her dad died, or more accurately, the night she’d murdered her own father.  Her body fidgeted restlessly as if fighting against the memories plaguing her and her arms stretched out searchingly, looking to hold onto the wrinkled shirt that must have slipped from her grasp sometime during the night.  She couldn’t see anything in the darkness shrouding the room but her fingers finally found purchase on familiar fabric.

            The shirt felt warmer than she remembered and something about it seemed off but her tired brain didn’t question it and she curled her fingers into it and burying her face into its comforting embrace, seeking the comfort that would allow her to sleep.  Her exhausted mind conjured up the scent that had long since faded; the familiar cologne mixed with a hint of worn leather and the underlying natural masculine scent. It was the smell of safety, the smell of home. Inhaling deeply, Talia’s mouth curved slightly in a relaxed smile and she slipped back into a deep sleep that was dreamless and free of horrors. 

            Hours later, Talia awoke once more, although much more calmly and well rested than the first time, with her face still buried into Dean’s old shirt.  She took a moment to appreciate the feeling of being well rested until the shirt beneath her shifted slightly. Her eyes snapped open in surprise to find that the return of the shirt’s smell wasn’t due to her overactive imagination in the middle of the night.

            The shirt she was snuggled into was not the same light grey cotton that she’d sought comfort from in empty motel rooms late at night. This one was pure black, and it was occupied by a warm chest that rose and fell beneath her in steady breaths.  Talia dragged her eyes slowly upwards to see Dean smiling softly at her from where she was basically draped across his chest and she realized in alarm that she must have spent all night like that.

            Gasping in shock, Talia rolled away from him quickly before he could see the blush she felt creeping up her neck to her face while she cursed her own stupidity. How could she have forgotten everything that happened yesterday and that she had reunited with the Winchesters before passing out.

            She stood up quickly and looked around for her bag to grab her stuff so she could leave but it was nowhere in sight and she realized it was probably halfway across the country where she’d left it before teleporting to Dean. She could feel his eyes on her as she stood motionless, trying to figure out her next move.

            “Talia…” Dean called out from behind her but she didn’t turn around as she located the door across the room and marched determinedly towards it, wanting to leave as soon as possible.  A sharp pain shot through her as she started forward and she clutched her torso, suddenly remembering her broken rib along with several other cuts and bruises that made themselves known in a painful reminder of her bout with vampires less than 24 hours ago.

            Dean started forward as she gasped in pain but she stepped away from him, “Don’t…. I need to get out of here.” She mumbled the last part more to herself and made her way towards the door a little more cautiously this time, more aware of her injuries.  Some naïve part of her was waiting for him to say something to try and get her to stay but when a heavy silence remained she felt disappointment curl in her stomach.

            She grasped the doorknob in her hand and paused for just a moment to stare at her fingers wrapped around the cold metal just as moments ago they had been wrapped around the warm softness of Dean’s shirt. Talia considered the stark contrast between the two sensations and she marveled at how quickly her emotions could change.  Just as she resolved to open the door, Dean’s voice called out:

            “Please…don’t…” His voice was thick with uncharacteristic emotion, “don’t go.” He pleaded and so help her, despite all that he had done and all the anger she felt, Talia froze at the vulnerability in his tone. She pressed her forehead against the wood of the door helplessly and didn’t move to leave but neither did she turn around to stay either. She was caught in limbo as she hovered in the doorway indecisively, waiting for him to speak further.

            The fact that she hadn’t left yet seemed to inspire Dean to more words and she could sense that he’d taken a couple steps closer. “You’re hurt and…I-” He seemed to struggle for words and there was a weighted pause before he continued, “Well, you shouldn’t be alone right now, not after everything that just happened.”

            Talia didn’t know what else she expected him to say and she berated herself for thinking that he was about to apologize.  She moved to open the door and prepared to call out to Castiel to come get her when a thought occurred to her. Castiel was her guardian angel and he’d told her himself that he kept an eye on her since she was born which meant there was no way he hadn’t known about her dad’s death. 

            He’d known about what she’d done and yet he’d reassured her that her abilities were a blessing. He’d continued to teach her how to improve her powers, the same powers that had killed her own father. Suddenly, she didn’t want to see him at all; horrified that he could have lied to her about something so important and knowing he would want to continue to encourage her to use her powers. She never wanted to use her grace ever again, not after the destruction it wrought.

            If she left though, then he was sure to find her and she wasn’t sure what he’d do when she refused to continue using her grace, especially given his orders.  She also knew that he had orders not to reveal his existence to the Winchesters; he’d shared this information the first time Sam had called her, warning her that she couldn’t mention him at all if she talked to him.  This meant her best bet for avoiding him was to stick with the Winchesters, as much as she didn’t want to.

            All these thoughts raced through her head in a split second and she slowly pulled the door shut in front her, wanting to scream in frustration.  Slowly, Talia turned around to face Dean, knowing that if she didn’t talk to him now, she’d just have to do it later.  She found him looking at her with reluctant hope in his eyes as if he couldn’t believe that she hadn’t left yet and a relieved smile broke out on his face when she stepped away from the door.

            “Listen little wolf, I-”

            “Don’t call me that.” Talia cut him off sharply, telling herself to ignore the stab of guilt when the genuine smile, that was far too rare for Dean, quickly dropped from his face.  Feeling the hurt and anger that had been festering within her for three months swarm up, she stalked up to him, ripping her necklace off and shoving it into his chest.

            “The boy who gave me that…” Emotion clogged her throat and she made a choked noise before she managed to continue, “He broke his promise.” She felt her eyes burning with tears that threatened to fall and she blinked hard to hold them back. The last thing she wanted to do was break down crying in front of him and she wanted him to hurt, to feel the pain that she had.  

            She released the necklace to fall to the floor with a clink as Dean stood frozen in shock and she spun to rush out the door feeling like she’d suffocate if she stayed another second.  She nearly ran into Sam on her way out but she only stopped long enough to mumble that she was going for a walk before she hurried past him.

* * *

 

            Sam watched Talia’s retreating form in confusion, not sure what had happened in the hour he’d been gone.  He’d left for a late morning run and had been unsurprised to see both Dean and Talia were still fast asleep and he’d been extremely amused to see the latter curled on top of Dean while his brother had a protective arm wrapped around her.  The two of them looked more relaxed and peaceful then Sam had seen in a very long time and he’d been loath to wake them. Instead, he had opted to go for a run and give them a chance to rest.

            Clearly, things had changed and while he knew that it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing when Talia woke up, he didn’t think she’d end up nearly in tears.  He walked into the motel room to get answers from his brother only to find Dean crouched down, his gaze fixated on something he was holding in his hand.  Walking closer, Sam realized with a start that it was the necklace that Talia always wore with a small metal wolf hanging from a black cord.

            The story around how and why Dean had given her that necklace was a secret kept between the two best friends but given Dean’s expression right now, Sam had a feeling that the removal of the necklace represented a lot more than just simple anger.  Sam was struck with the sudden fear that Talia was going to leave again and this time he wasn’t sure that his brother would ever be quite the same.

            Rushing back outside, Sam’s brain was frantic as he tried to piece together an idea of where she might have gone. She didn’t have the look of someone heading out of town so he tried to think of where she would go to lay low or escape for a while.  He kept coming up blank until a thought occurred to him: Dean and Talia were best friends. All he had to ask himself was where he’d expect to find Dean in a situation like this and that’s where Talia was sure to have gone as well.

            The answer came to him instantly and he trotted off to the closest bar he could find. Sure enough, he walked into the nearly empty bar to find a familiar figure hunched on top of a stool with a glass clutched in her hands.  Sam snorted in amusement, finding humor in the fact that even when the two of them were fighting, Dean and Talia were still very much the same. Although he had a feeling that their shared characteristics were part of the reasons for the current predicament.

            “Come to see if I’ve run away again?” Talia called out bitterly, not turning her head to acknowledge him as Sam lowered himself onto the barstool next to her. 

            “Have you?” Sam questioned tensely and when she raised a confused eyebrow at him he clarified, “Run away, that is.”

            “What does it look like?” Talia spit back sarcastically, “I’m still here, aren’t I? If I wanted to leave town you wouldn’t have found me.”  She said nothing else and downed the remaining amber liquid in her glass before waving at the bartender for another and Sam watched him pour her another full glass of whiskey.

            The scene in front of him was so familiar to Sam, he’d seen Dean in this position so many times before but the similarity wasn’t as amusing this time.  He had so many questions for Talia now that she was awake.  How in the hell she’d even showed up to the house yesterday? What had happened to make her freak out so bad? What argument she and Dean had had that left the two of them like this?

            As he opened his mouth to ask, she cut him off by setting her glass down sharply onto the counter with a loud clink. “Sam, I don’t want to talk about whatever it is you want to ask me. I’m not leaving again but I’m-” She cut herself off, “things are just…different now. You’re just gonna have to deal with it.” 

            Sam didn’t know how to respond to that so he just sat in defeated silence as Talia continued to sip from her drink.  Eventually, he stood and left her to stew in her own thoughts in peace as he walked back to the motel room, wondering if it really was too late to fix what had been broken.

* * *

         

            Talia was drunker than she could remember being in a long time.  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been in the bar but judging by the dark skies outside, she’d spent the entire day inside, drinking.  She’d frequented many bars when she’d been hunting alone but when she did, she would use her grace to burn through the alcohol in her system, thus allowing her to continue drinking for longer without getting past tipsy.

            Since she refused to use her grace again, the many drinks she’d consumed had caught up with her and the bartender had cut her off.  With no source of alcohol to distract her, she’d scanned the bar to find a victim before quickly picking a fight with another girl who looked like she might put up a good fight.  Even as inebriated as she was, Talia had gotten a couple good swings in before missing wildly and falling to the floor from her own momentum.

            At this point, she’d been kicked out of the bar but the kind bartender whose shift had just ended, stayed outside with her and asked if she could call anyone to come pick her up.  Talia had incoherently mumbled that she would walk home fine but the woman had easily pushed her back to the ground before searching her pockets to find Talia’s phone.

            Resigned to accepting the help this woman offered, Talia curled up on the ground ignoring how filthy the asphalt was as she tried to avoid putting pressure on her broken rib that still ached even through the haze of alcohol. She had enough piece of mind to mumble, “Sam, call Sam.”

            At some point, the swirling blurry world was making her nauseous so Talia scrunched her eyes shut and prayed that Sam would get there quickly so she could sleep off all the whiskey in her system. She must have blacked out for a bit because the next thing she knew, the familiar rumble of the Impala’s engine soon fell upon Talia’s ears and she heard the bartender call out a greeting and wave someone over.

            A strong pair of arms lifted her up and the sudden motion didn’t help her queasiness so Talia was too busy biting her lip to keep from vomiting to pay attention to the conversation going on in front of her.  When she finally felt stable enough to open her eyes, she was not greeted by the sight of shaggy brown hair above her.  Instead, she saw the solemn face of Dean Winchester peering down at her as he carried her.

            Talia immediately began wiggling to get out of his grip and managed to slip out from his arms just as they got to the Impala. Stumbling slightly and having to use the Impala to support herself, Talia glared at Dean, “Where’s Sam? He’s supposed to be here, not you…I don’t want you here.”

            Talia turned to storm off and therefore didn’t see the hurt that flashed across Dean’s face at her words but he still stopped her from drunkenly wandering down the street and forced her into the passenger seat of the car where she sat with her arms cross in silent protest.

            Feeling the need to explain, Dean told her, “Sam was asleep when you called so I answered the phone instead and then I didn’t want to wake him up just to come pick you up so I-” Dean cut himself off when he heard a light thud and looked over to see Talia slumped against the window, dead asleep.  Smirking to himself, Dean turned the key in the ignition and drove the short ride back to the motel.

            Talia was still out when he carried her into the room but as he went to lay her down on the empty bed she awoke with a weak cry of pain. “Ow, shit. That still hurts.” Uncaring of Dean’s presence, she lifted her shirt to see a brilliant hue of purple spread across the left side of her chest from her broken rib. “Yep, definitely still broken.” She observed.

            Dean hissed out angrily at the sight of the swollen bruise across her ribcage but even though she could see he was angry that she hadn’t told him about the injury, he didn’t say a word. Instead, she watched as he pulled the homemade first-aid kit from his bag and pulled out supplies to wrap up her chest and keep her rib from moving while it healed.

            Talia wasn’t sure if it was because of how drunk she was or if it was something else but there was an odd charge in the atmosphere that wasn’t normally there while Dean helped dress her wound.  The two of them had taken care of each other’s injuries so many times growing up that this scenario shouldn’t have been uncomfortable.

            Yet, when she removed her shirt to allow Dean to wrap her chest and sat in front of him in only a bra, she felt a buzz beneath her skin that wasn’t due to alcohol.  Despite having been in this situation numerous times before, she couldn’t suppress the wave of goosebumps left in the wake of his warm hands as he carefully started wrapping a long bandage around her torso.

            Talia thought she was the only one who felt the change but then Dean leaned towards her to wrap the bandage around her back and suddenly their faces were an inch apart and she could feel the heat of his breath on her face.  Dean’s eyes locked with hers and they both froze and for the tiniest second she swore his eyes flickered to her lips and he leaned ever so slightly forward.  A loud snore from Sam startled them apart but the youngest Winchester simply rolled over, still asleep.

            Dean finished wrapping her torso tightly with practiced movements that were quick and efficient and avoided as much contact with her as possible. Talia sat in confused shock after he’d finished, sure that her drunken brain was messing with her when she noticed a blush on Dean’s cheeks. Dean didn’t blush, and if he did, it certainly wouldn’t be because of anything she’d done.

            Deciding to leave this analysis for her sober self to deal with, she went to grab pajamas when she realized that she quite literally had nothing with her. Her bag was still gone and that realization seemed to be too much for her sluggish brain to comprehend and she simply stood swaying slightly on her feet staring blankly at where Dean and Sam’s bags were lying on the floor.

            “What’s wrong?” Dean asked when she didn’t move and something about that question irked her.

            “What’s wrong…what’s wrong!?!” She felt the wall she’d built in her mind to block her emotions, weakened by alcohol, burst completely and she began to rant, “Everything!  My guardian angel lied to me, my best friend is an asshole and I’m really drunk and dirty and I just want to go to sleep but I don’t have any of my god damn clothes because I teleported across the country using my freak powers. The same powers that I used to kill my own father!”

             Talia was breathing heavily and it took a moment for her own words to sink in and the realization that she’d been trying to ignore from the moment she woke up today hit her once again.  She stared despairingly at Dean as if he could somehow make it not true. “I killed my own father, Dean.”  Tears streamed down her face as guilt and grief swallowed her whole until the only thing keeping her centered was the sudden embrace of Dean’s arms as he caught her when her knees buckled beneath her.

            He held her while she cried until her body was physically incapable of producing more tears and she felt as if everything within her was dry and shriveled up like she’d been left out in the sun too long.  Dean didn’t say a word to her and she was grateful for his silence, not sure what she would do if he tried to speak to her right now.  The part of her that was slowly sobering up was appalled at how emotional she’d been in the last two days but a majority of her was still too drunk to care.

            When he finally sensed that she was done crying, Dean slowly released her and stood from the floor where’d they’d been sitting.  She wondered what he was doing until he returned with one of his shirts and she realized she was still shirtless with the white bandages on her ribs stark against her skin.  Gently, Dean helped her slip into the shirt, that was much too big for her, without disturbing her rib before guiding her to lie down on the bed.

            Talia felt a soul-deep exhaustion weighing her down and yet she feared the nightmares that would plague her if she shut her eyes. After months of freedom from them, she wasn’t sure she could deal with their return so when Dean made to leave her to sleep she clutched onto his hand fiercely. “Please…” she begged, “don’t go.”

            Dean hesitated only a second as he met her pleading gaze before he laid down beside her on the bed and she noticed he was careful to leave as much space between them as possible considering her previous distaste for touching him.  Talia knew that she should be mad at him and that she might regret it later but right now, she just wanted the comfort of human contact to keep the demons away so she crawled towards him and buried her face into his shirt much like how she’d awoken this morning.

            As much as she tried to fight it, she felt sleep dragging her down into the darkness and her aching body and wounded soul could not fight against it for any longer.  As her eyes fell shut, she prayed that she wouldn’t be forced to relive her worst nightmares on repeat and terror gripped her at the thought.  Suddenly though, she was able to hold onto a sense of serenity as Dean’s low voice reached her ears and she had just enough sentience to recognize the song as “Hey Jude” before she fell asleep to the sound of him humming softly.


	44. Chapter 44

            Talia awoke to a steady beating of pain bouncing around her head and the dry, cottony feeling in her mouth that combined to inform her that she had once again imbibed far too much alcohol and had not sobered up before falling asleep.  She took her time waking up and slowly, the memories of the night before replayed themselves in her mind and she winced internally at some of her actions.

            Although she knew she should probably move, she gave herself another minute to absorb the comfort of Dean’s presence from where she was still lying curled into his side.  She felt drained after her confession last night about her father’s death but admitting it to Dean made her feel a lot better. It still hurt, and she wasn’t sure the pain would ever go away, but the burden of the truth was much lighter and his presence made it so much easier.

            Talia felt Dean slide out carefully, slowly extricating himself from her grasp but she felt no need to get up right away and decided she’d earned a couple extra minutes of rest before being forced the face the world again, especially since she didn’t have Castiel here to magic away her hangover.  Before she could fall completely asleep again, Dean’s gentle shaking made her look up to see him offering her a glass of water and some aspirin.

            She took both gratefully, downing the two pills before washing them down with water and finishing off the entire glass to get rid of the dryness in her mouth.  Sitting up, she watched as Dean walked back to his bag only to return with a folded-up piece of clothing in his hands which he offered to her saying, “Found an old pair of your sweatpants in the bottom of my bag, figured you’d want something clean to wear.”

            She smiled gently before accepting the clothing gratefully, realizing just how problematic it was going to be until she could find some way to get her bag back. She walked into the bathroom to change only to freeze at the sight of her own reflection in the mirror.

            Suddenly, Talia realized why Sam and Dean hadn’t recognized her at first. Her face had slimmed down considerably, the physical exertion of hunting regularly had trimmed all the extra fat off her body to replace it with muscle.  Not a single freckle was visible on her skin either.  Her hair had changed as well, now falling past her shoulders and a few shades lighter but it was her eyes that contained the most striking difference of all.

            Where before they’d been a dark green with a hint of brown around her pupil they were now a brilliant sky blue that was oh so familiar to her. It was the same color that shone whenever she called upon her grace and Talia realized that the color must have changed when she began using her grace more regularly.

            Staring at the stranger in the mirror and taking in all the difference at once, Talia felt herself slowly become accustomed to the new look.  It was still her, she hadn’t changed enough to be completely unrecognizable, she was just a little bit different now.  She felt it an appropriate representation for how she felt inside. She had changed a lot in the last three months and although she was still the same person overall, there were parts of her that would never be the same. She was still trying to figure out if that was a good thing or not.

            Finally having enough of her self-reflection, Talia slid out of the grimy jeans she was wearing and slipped into the pair of sweatpants that Dean had given her, grateful for the clean clothes.  The sweats were from many years ago so they hugged her legs pretty tightly and didn’t quite reach all the way down her ankles but they were still comfortable.  She was still wearing Dean’s shirt that he’d given her last night which hung very loosely on her down to her thigh but it was comfortable.

            After checking to make sure the bandages wrapped around her ribs were still secure, Talia exited the bathroom feeling slightly more prepared to face whatever awaited her today.  Dean turned to her when he heard the door open and stared at her with an odd expression on his face before clearing his throat and looking away while he commented, “Guess they still fit.”

            “Yeah.” Talia replied simply, feeling an awkward air fill the room while she hesitated unsure of what to do.  She felt like they needed to address what happened last night but she also kind of wanted to pretend like it never happened so she could avoid it. Dean spoke up before she could decide what she was going to say,

            “I’m sorry.” He declared simply, and though he didn’t specify she knew exactly what he was talking about.

            “I know.” She replied and she did. She knew he was sorry by the way he’d acted since the moment she’d come back. Dean wasn’t great with expressing his feelings through words but she had always been able to read the unspoken words in his actions. However, neither of them could just erase everything that had happened in the last three months.

            “But you can’t just apologize away everything that you said. You can’t just push me away and then want me back again whenever you feel like it, I deserve better than that.”

            Dean looked crestfallen as he carefully questioned, “Did I ruin our friendship?”

            Talia stared at him in silent shock before letting out a brief humorless chuckle, “God, I tried so hard to hate you. I wanted to hate you for so long but even when I was completely pissed at you for being an utter asshole, I never really hated you.”  She tugged a hand through her hair and glared half-heartedly, “You make it so damn hard to dislike you, especially when you do shit like last night.”

            She trailed off as she struggled to articulate her thoughts, “Dean, I just…I need some time to think things over.  A lot happened in the three months I was gone, most of it stuff I’m not ready to talk about yet. And I’ve changed; more than just physically. If I’m going to stay then I need you to respect my desire for space and let me have some time to process everything.”

            Dean nodded slowly in agreement and before either of them could say anything else, Sam walked in hesitatingly as if worried he would interrupt something. The youngest Winchester seemed startled to see both of them standing there staring at him and grinned sheepishly as he stepped in the room. 

            Spotting the laptop in his hand, Talia grasped onto the opportunity to change the subject. “You got a case for us?”  Sam nodded and opened his laptop on the table to a news article he had pulled up while he explained the information that he’d found.

* * *

 

            Talia was sitting next to Sam, wondering if she should be concerned with how often she found herself in a dingy bar when she felt it, the familiar resonating of her grace that only happened when Castiel was nearby.  Surreptitiously, she sat up slightly and scanned around the bar but there was a distinct lack of a sudden appearance of a tall man in a tan trench coat so she assumed that he’d teleported outside.

            Sam, who’d been waiting with her for Dean to finish ‘extracting’ information from the waitress’ noticed her sudden change in demeanor and turned to her questioningly. “I need some air. I’m going to go wait outside.” Talia dismissed herself and hurried as casually as she could out the building.

            Following her grace, she found Castiel standing in a nearby alley with a familiar bag hanging from his hand.  Talia was so relieved to see her stuff that she momentarily forgot that she was pissed at him and she rushed forward to reclaim her possessions.  Sifting through the duffle bag, she noticed that he’d replaced all the weapons she’d taken out for her hunt. “Thanks man, you’re a real lifesaver.”

            “Why haven’t you called for me? Your training is not complete and yet you still remain here with the Winchesters.” Castiel got straight to the real purpose of his visit and Talia felt her anger return at the mention of her training and the reminder of what Castiel had failed to tell her.

            “Speaking of my training,” she crossed her arms angrily, “when were you planning on telling me that the power we were cultivating was the same power that killed my father?”

            For once, Castiel seemed truly surprised at her words. “Sister, I-”

            “Stop, I don’t want to hear it.” Talia held her hand up to stop him, “I don’t want to hear whatever excuse you’re going to conjure up. I’m done. I don’t want anything more to do with your secret agenda and the lies.” She crossed her arms stubbornly as she declared, “Either you tell me the complete truth about everything to do with me and why I am the way I am or you can leave and tell your superiors where I think they can shove their so-called training.”

            As she watched Castiel flounder with what to do, part of her felt bad for treating her guardian angel this way but the fact that he didn’t deny her first statement told her that not only was it true but that he’d known about it.  He was supposed to protect her and she thought he was her friend but he’d kept such a big secret from her and now she just felt betrayed. A rustle of feathers later and she was alone in the alley and she felt oddly bereft at his departure.  Despite her anger, she’d bonded with the socially-awkward angel in their time together and part of her would miss their adventures together.

            Slinging her duffle bag over her shoulder, she made her way back to the bar and wondered how she’d explain the sudden return to the Winchester brothers.  Luckily, the two were just walking out of the establishment as she walked up and they were so busy arguing that they didn’t pay much attention to her arrival or even pause to question where she’d been.

            The argument seemed to have cooled down by the time Talia approached and she heard Sam tell his brother, “No, man, I mean like our kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead.”

            “What are you talking about, Sam?” Talia inquired, “What happened?” Sam explained how he’d just run into a girl named Meg that he’d met during the time that Sam had left Talia and Dean when they’d gotten into a huge argument about looking for John.

             “Look guys, I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road. And now I run into her in some random Chicago bar? I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don’t think that’s a little weird?”

            “I don’t know Sam,” Talia argued, “it could just be a random coincidence.”

            Sam was adamant as he defended his theory. “Yeah, it happens, but not to us.  Look, I could be wrong, I’m just saying that there’s something about this girl that I can’t quite put my finger on.”

            A smirk spread on Dean’s face as he said, “Well, I bet you’d like to. I mean, maybe she’s not a suspect, maybe you’ve got a thing for her, huh?” Sam rolled his eyes at his brother but Dean continued teasingly, “Maybe you’re thinking a little too much with your upstairs brain, huh?” He pointed to his head with a grin and Talia snorted softly in amusement at his behavior.

            Sam however remained serious and turned to Talia to plead, “Do me a favor. Check and see if there’s really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts, and see if you can’t dig anything up on that symbol on Meredith’s floor.”

            “Wait, what are you going to do?” Talia questioned, not wanting to be left alone with Dean to do research. The two of them weren’t fighting anymore but now things were just really odd between them and neither was sure how to act around each other anymore so they avoided being alone together as much as possible.

            “I’m gonna watch Meg.” Sam replied simply.  “I wanna see what’s what. Better safe than sorry.”

            Talia sensed that Dean was about to commence teasing his brother again so she spoke up before he could. “Why can’t I go with you? Dean can do research on his own.”

            Sam immediately shot down the idea, “No, no really. There’s no need for both of us to keep watch. You should just go with Dean.” 

            Talia narrowed her eyes at his adamant refusal, sensing that he had ulterior motives to leaving her with Dean but she knew it would be weirder if she drew attention to it so instead she just began walking away with Dean and shot over her shoulder, “Have fun stalking your girlfriend! And shower before you go, cause you stink of rotten eggs.”  She could feel Sam glaring at her as she walked away but it served him right for forcing her to do research with Dean.

            The duo spread out in the motel room to do research and Talia broke the awkward silence that had prevailed since the moment they’d left Sam by recapping the information they’d gathered so far.

            “So, we know that whatever killed Meredith got into her apartment without setting off the alarm or breaking any windows or doors and her heart was missing but it can’t be a werewolf because of the misalignment with the lunar cycles.  There’s something animalistic in the way the body was completely torn apart though so maybe we should focus on that when we look for the source of the symbol you found in the blood splatter.”

            Dean made a low noise of agreement as he searched on Sam’s laptop and Talia began scanning through John’s journal for anything that might help them.  A couple hours later found Talia sitting next to Dean taking notes on all the information he found online about the symbol, writing it down so they could review it later as needed.

            It wasn’t until they took a break for Dean to look up info on Sam’s friend Meg Masters and Talia looked at the time that she realized how long the two of them had been working. It had been easy to slip into the routine of research and they’d been working together effortlessly just like old times.

            The two of them had been crowded in front of Sam’s laptop for hours and it hadn’t felt uncomfortable at all. It gave her hope that maybe they could go back to being friends again more easily than she’d thought. They’d gathered all the info they could so Dean called Sam to update him on what the two of them had learned.

            Of course, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to first tease his little brother about stalking the girl he had a thing for first. It wasn’t until an exasperated Sam asked what they’d found out about Meg’s history that Dean finally got on topic. “Sorry, man, she checks out. There is a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook. I even pulled up her high school photo. Now, look, why don’t you go knock on her door, and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?”

            Talia had to cover her mouth to stifle the laughter as Dean refused to let up on harassing Sam about his crush on this girl.  She wanted to tell him to ease up but she also knew that it was Dean’s way of encouraging his brother to move on as this was the first girl that he’d shown real interest in since Jessica’s death. Thankfully, Sam didn’t seem to be all that bothered by it as he ignored Dean’s comment and inquired, “What about the symbol? Any luck?”

            “Yeah,” Talia chimed in, “that we did have some luck with.” She consulted the pages of notes she’d taken down, “Turns out it’s Zoroastrian, and very, very old school. We’re talking two thousand years B.C. It’s a sigil for something called a Daeva.”

            “What’s a Daeva?”

            “It translates to demon of darkness.” Dean explained, reading over Talia’s shoulder, “Zoroastrian demons, and they’re savage, animalistic you know, nasty attitudes. They’re kind of like demonic pit bulls.”

            “How’d you figure that out?” Sam asked incredulously.

            Dean’s reply was indignant, “Give me some credit, man. You don’t have a corner on paper chasing around here.”

            “Oh, yeah? Name the last book you read.” Sam fired back arrogantly and Dean was silent and at a loss for a response but Talia defended him almost reflexively with an answer:

            “The Odyssey.” Dean looked over at her in shock and she elaborated. “Remember, it was my favorite book when you came to visit for Christmas one year so I gave you a copy and forced you to promise to read it.”

            “That’s right,” Dean chuckled in remembrance, “You called me like every day for the next month to see how far I’d gotten and check that I was still reading it.”

            “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it, Winchester. If I recall, you finished it within the week.” She narrowed her eyes threateningly at him, daring him to deny it.

            “Only because I was being blackmailed into it.” Dean protested but when she continued to glare at him he relented, “Fine, fine, you’re right. I liked it, you happy?”

            “Yup.” She declared smugly.

            “Uh guys, can we stay on topic here?” Sam’s voice called out from the phone reminding Talia of the conversation they’d been in the middle of and she focused back onto the research in front of her.

            “Anyway, here’s the thing, these Daevas, they have to be summoned, conjured. And it’s nothing to laugh about either. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them…plus the arms, and torsos.”

            “So, what do they look like?” Sam questioned.

            “Well, nobody knows, but nobody’s seen them for a couple of millennia. And summoning a demon that ancient is big news, someone really knows their stuff. I think we’ve got a major player in town.” Dean warned and then, having given out all the information that he and Talia had collected, he added, “Now, why don’t you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?”

            “Bite me.”

            “No, bite her.” Dean advised, “Don’t leave teeth marks, though-” There was a telltale clicking sound of Sam hanging up and Talia snickered as Dean looked slightly offended before he closed his own phone.

* * *

 

            It wasn’t until much later in the night when Sam finally returned to the motel room, looking around frantically and with a rushed air about him, as if he’d sprinted the whole way back.  He relaxed slightly when he spotted Talia and Dean seated at the table and hurriedly told them of how he’d watched Meg slipping into an abandoned warehouse where a black alter had been set up that had the same Zoroastrian symbol from the crime scene.  Apparently, Meg had stood over it holding some strange ceremonial bowl and was speaking into it.

            Talia was aghast as Sam finished his tale, “So your little crush Meg is using that black altar to control the Daeva?”

            Dean smirked, “Looks like Sammy’s got a thing for the bad girl.”  He chuckled to himself and Talia and Sam both rolled their eyes. “Now what’s the deal with that bowl again?”

            “She was talking into it.” Sam explained, “The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone.”

            “With who? With the Daeva?” Dean proposed.

            “No, you said those things were savages. No, this was someone different; someone who’s giving her orders.” Sam’s face was grim. “Someone who’s coming to that warehouse.”

            Talia felt a realization creep up on her and she turned to face Dean as they both came to the same understanding. “Shit, Dean, what about that connection we found?” Dean was already rifling through her notes as she spoke and he withdrew the police records they’d gotten a hold of from the two previous victims of the Daeva.

            “Turns out we missed something when we went over the records of the victims. The first victim, the old man – he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn’t born here. Look where he was born.” Dean pointed out a specific line on the page.

            “Lawrence, Kansas.” Sam read out in awe.

            Dean hummed in agreement and then took the second file which Talia offered to him. “Meredith, the second victim – turns out she was adopted. And guess where she’s from.”  He indicated another line that again read ‘Lawrence, Kansas’.

            “Holy crap.” Sam sank into a chair, staggered by the unsettling revelation and Talia thought that was an appropriate reaction. “I mean, it’s where the demon killed Mom. That’s where everything started.” He looked up at them. “So, you think Meg’s tied up with the demon?” 

            “I think it’s a definite possibility.” Dean responded.

            “But I don’t understand. What’s the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in?” Sam was agitated as he spoke, the mystery of it all was agonizing to him.

            “Beats me.” Dean seemed less inclined to worry about the nitty gritty details as he announced, “But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation.”

            “I don’t think we should do that.” Talia disagreed, she thought this might be a situation that called for more information gathering before they rushed in, “We shouldn’t tip her off. We’ve got to stake out that warehouse and see who, or what, is showing up to meet her. Then once we know everything we’re up against, then we can go in guns blazing.”

            The brothers gave her impressed looks and nodded in agreement with the plan while Dean added, “I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t think we should do this alone.”

            Talia left Dean to call his father and inform him of what they’d stumbled upon while she and Sam gathered whatever supplies they could for the upcoming confrontation.  Sam started pilfering through the trunk of the Impala as she sorted through her own duffle bag and the odd assortment of weapons she’d collected while hunting solo.

            By the time she was finished, Sam had already gone back inside and she reentered the motel room only to freeze as she stumbled into a conversation that she felt like she didn’t have any right to overhear.

            “You, me, Dad and-…Talia, I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again.” Dean’s voice was gruff with emotion he was trying to suppress and she felt a pressure squeeze her heart as he voiced the desire that she’d read in his face the moment he’d knocked on her door so many months ago.

            Sam seemed equally as stricken by his brother’s statement but his next words were apologetic and spoken with caution although that didn’t lessen the conviction in his voice.  “Dean, we are a family. I’d do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before.”

            Talia thought she could almost hear the sound of Dean’s heart shattering as well as see in his eyes the moment his hopes were crushed and he didn’t seem to have the heart to conceal the hurt in his voice as he muttered lowly, “Could be.”  She would do anything to remove that look from his face and yet there was nothing she could do except stand their silently and continue to eavesdrop.

            “I don’t want them to be.” Sam’s reply this time was firm and unapologetic but not intentionally cruel. “I’m not gonna live this life forever, Dean. When this is all over, you’re going to have to let me go my own way.”  There was a pause as Dean and Sam exchanged a silent look and Talia took that as her cue to announce her presence and pretend like she’d just started to come in when Sam spoke up again.

            “But I’m not the only person here, Dean. Talia would stay with you if you ask her to. Hell, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t leave unless you tried to force her too, again.” At this point she saw Sam give Dean a pointed look.  “I can’t give you the old Winchester family back but you could have a new one.”

            Talia’s mind was awhirl with confusion as she tried to process Sam’s words that seemed to have a much deeper meaning for Dean than they did for her. Figuring it was by far time she made herself known, she pushed the door a little further open as noisily as possible while slapping her bag loudly onto the floor along with the collection of weapons she’d amassed.

            “Here’s everything I could find in my bag that might be of some use to us.”

            Both brothers turned to her with a jolt but soon recovered and examined the supplies she’d laid out on the table. A couple seconds later, Dean froze as he examined a small bottle of holy water and he seemed to do a double take as his eyes slowly traced from the container in his hand to her duffle bag on the floor.

            “Wait…where did you get all this? When did you get your bag back?”

            Talia froze, every muscle paralyzed as she frantically searched her brain for an explanation, “The friend who I was hunting with right before I-uh…teleported to you called to tell me he was passing through town and he had my stuff so while you and Sam were in the bar I slipped outside to meet Cas-” She cut herself off with a sharp exhalation as she realized her mistake, she wasn’t supposed to tell them about Castiel at all and she hurriedly tried to breeze over the slip.

            “Cas.” She restated more confidently, hoping the shorter name sounded more normal and was less likely to draw questioning. “Cas met me outside the bar and dropped my bag off. It wasn’t a big deal so I didn’t think to mention it earlier and it kind of slipped my mind with everything that’s been happening.

            “You were _hunting_ ….with some dude named… _Cas?_ ” The incredulity in his voice was masked by a growing agitation as Dean continued. “You weren’t supposed to be hunting!”

            She drew herself up to stand tall, irritation in her narrowed gaze as she questioned, “Oh yeah, and what exactly was I _supposed_ to be doing? You think that I was going to stop hunting just because of our fight? That just because you didn’t agree with my decision that I’d suddenly decide to change my mind and give up hunting and go to college and-”

            “Oh my god.” Realization settled into her bones and she gripped her head as it suddenly became clear to her. “That’s exactly what you thought.”  Everything fell into place, and all his odd behavior seemed to have an explanation. He’d driven her away, even though he hadn’t wanted to, in the hopes that she’d be so upset that she’d go to college where she’d theoretically be safe.

            “Dean Winchester you are an absolute idiot!” Talia marched forward and punctuated each of her words with a sharp jab of her finger into the middle of his chest. “How in your right mind did you ever think that was a good idea? Or that it would even work?!”  She waved her hands about in exasperation, at a loss for words.

            Dean glowered down at her, and when he spoke there was more venom than she expected in his response. “How was I supposed to know you’d run off like that and go hunting with some random guy? Who is this Cas guy anyways?”

            “He’s a friend. One who was a lot nicer to me than you’ve been lately.” Talia saw Dean flinch slightly at her words and then sent her a glare so strong that she took a step back, startled and felt the need to explain. “I told you I’m not mad at you for that anymore, okay.” The anger was still evident on his face and she furrowed her brow in confusion. “You know me, Dean. You didn’t ever actually believe I’d give up hunting, did you?”

            “No.” Dean admitted lowly.

            “Then, why are you so upset about this?”

            Dean opened his mouth to answer but no words came out and he stared at her with an indiscernible look before he snapped his jaw shut with an audible click and stormed out of the room without another word. Talia stared after him in bewilderment as the motel room door slammed shut behind him.


	45. Chapter 45

            The distinct scent of iron was sharp in Talia’s nose as she returned to consciousness, blinking her eyes to try and clear some of the blood that ran into her eyes from a shallow cut across her brow.  The warm liquid was also seeping through her shirt, oozing out of the wounds in her side and arm where the claws of the Daeva had ripped into her soft flesh.  When she tried to move her hands to stifle the flow of blood she discovered that her hands were tied to a post behind her back.

            She could sense Meg standing nearby but didn’t dare look up at her, terrified of being greeted once more by the demonic visage that hid behind the mask of a pretty human face.  The same monstrous image had floored her when she and the Winchesters had snuck into the warehouse.  They’d tried to confront Meg only to discover that the whole thing was a trap just before the she summoned the Daeva to attack them.

            If that wasn’t enough, Talia had also realized that she could see the Daeva with her grace-boosted vision and that there were in fact two of them.  One had swooped towards the brothers while the other had charged towards her and she’d barely been able to release a swear before she rolled to dodge it.  She hadn’t quite avoided the blow however and its claws had just nicked her arm, drawing blood to run in rivulets down her arm.

            Hissing in pain, Talia had risen to her feet, whipping out her knife on reflex despite knowing it would be useless. She watched the other creature throwing Dean effortlessly into a pile of crates from which he did not reemerge before it turned to Sam and clawed him across the face, sending him falling to the ground as well.  Letting out a cry, Talia charged towards it brandishing her blade that was slippery with the blood running over her hand.

            Instinct warned her to duck and she felt the breeze blow over her head as its swipe just missed her and she struck forward like lightening with her right hand, burying her blade deep into the side of the shadow demon.  A high-pitched wail rang out and Talia observed in shock as the creature writhed in pain its shrieks nearing painful levels as her eardrums ached at the sound. 

            She looked at where her dagger was buried into its side and saw a slight glow coming from her blood that was coating it and sinking into the Daeva.  Her angelic blood that was infused with her grace must be poisonous to the creature made of shadows and darkness. Talia prayed it would be enough as she gripped tightly on the handle and twisted and pushed the blade further into the demon.

            It struggled beneath her, trying to escape but she refused to give up and as it crawled away she yanked the weapon out and wiped it on her arm to further coat it in her blood.  Lunging forward, she drove it into the demon’s back as she cried out, “Be gone, creature of darkness!” The words, spoken in Enochian which Castiel had told her was the innate language of angels, was the closest Talia would let herself get to actually summoning her power.

            There was a sound like a mini explosion and she was flung backwards as blinding light burst out, blinding her momentarily.  In a daze, she rose to find the Daeva gone with nothing left to hint of its existence besides the shadowy outline of an explosion burnt into the concrete floor. 

            Talia was so focused on the fact that she’d actually managed to kill a Daeva that she completely forgot that there was two of them. The second monster made itself known when it raked its claws into her sides while it sent her flying through the air to smack into the wall.  The abrupt impact of her body against the metal was the last thing that Talia remembered before waking up just now.

            Her head was throbbing slightly and her cuts burned fiercely but she knew that none of her wounds were that serious and she’d survive, assuming they ever made it out of the warehouse alive.  She saw Dean on her right, already awake and looking at her in slight concern, so she nodded to tell him she was fine and then turned to her left to see Sam slowly stirring into consciousness.

            She was glad to see that both Winchesters looked generally okay despite a few minor wounds.  Reassured that they were going to be fine, Talia began to slowly twist her hands to grab the knife she kept hidden up her sleeve for scenarios just like this where she might need to cut herself loose.

            “Hey, Sam?” Dean’s voice alerted her to the fact that his younger brother was fully awake, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend…is a bitch.” Talia chuckled under her breath in agreement and then grunted in pain as her still healing rib ached in pain at the movement.  Cursing under her breath, she hoped it hadn’t broken again during the fight.

            Unsurprisingly, Sam was not perturbed by his brother’s comment and instead chose to address Meg. “This, this whole thing, was a trap. Me running into you at the bar, following you hear and hearing what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn’t it?”  Meg laughed in agreement to his conjectures. “And the fact that the victims were from Lawrence?”

            “It doesn’t mean anything.” Meg declared in a sing-song voice. “It was just to draw you in, that’s all.”  Her cheery voice was grating on Talia’s nerves now that she knew the truth and she worked even more furiously on cutting through her bonds now that her knife was in her hand, doing her best to make the movements of her hand unnoticeable

            “You killed those two people for nothing.” Sam realized in horror.

            “Baby, I’ve killed a lot more for a lot less.”

            “You trapped us, good for you.” Dean jeered with a snide smile, “But why don’t you kill us already?” 

            “Not very quick on the uptake, are we?” Meg leaned in closer, her voice mocking as she whispered conspiratorially, “This trap isn’t for you.”

            Talia could almost feel the confusion emanating from the boys and she froze momentarily in her task of sawing through the ropes binding her hands as the realization struck her. “John.” She whispered under her breath before repeating it louder, “It’s a trap for your Dad.”  Both Winchesters turned their heads to her in bewilderment and out of her peripheral vision she caught Meg smirking at her.

            She didn’t want to draw more attention to herself but she couldn’t help but add derisively, “But sweetheart, you’re dumber than you look. Even if John was in town, which he’s not, he’s way too good to get caught in a trap like this.”

            “He is pretty good.” Meg admitted with a shrug. “I’ll give you that.” She stood up and walked over to Dean and sat down, straddling his legs and causing Talia to give jerk against her bonds angrily.  She didn’t like how close Meg was to Dean and she had a feeling the girl knew it as she slid even closer to him while she said, “But you see, he has one weakness.”

            “What’s that?” Dean asked.

            “You.” She announced freely, “He lets his guard down around his boys, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he _is_ in town and he’ll come to try and save you. Then, the Daevas will kill everybody, nice and slow and messy.”

            Dean’s cocky demeanor returned. “Well, I’ve got news for ya. It’s going to take a lot more than some…shadow to kill him.”

            “Dean,” Talia couldn’t help but caution, “they aren’t shadows. They’re still here in the room but they’re invisible to you minus their shadows. Well, the one that’s still alive is.” She said the last part with a sneer in Meg’s direction who let out a snarl and stood up to slide over to where Talia was tied up.

            “So, you can see them? I wondered how you managed to kill one. Now what makes you so special?” Meg peered down at her with genuine curiosity on her face and Talia steeled herself to glare right back at her, frustrated that she had to stop cutting when she was almost through them.  Fortunately, she’d caught a small movement in both Sam and Dean’s hands earlier that told her they were both trying the same thing and meant that she just had to stall long enough for one of them to get free.

            Meg leaned closer to her as if to get a better look at her face like that would magically reveal why Talia was able to see the Daeva and Talia leaned back to put as much distance between them as possible.  She wasn’t sure how her grace would react to skin contact with a demon and she could already feel it flaring up uncontrollably in reaction to the close proximity despite her best attempts to push it back into her chest where she’d been keeping it locked up.

            Despite her attempts to lean backwards, Meg was undeterred and as she peered fixedly into Talia’s eyes, realization crossed her face as she seemed to see what she was looking for and Talia felt a trickle of fear down her spine.  The blonde girl’s lips spread slowly into a devious grin as she cocked her head to the side. “There’s only one thing I know of that can actually see a Daeva.”

            Talia fought to keep her face impassive despite the icy cold grip of terror that was spreading in her veins as Meg’s stare broke off and her attention darted downwards where she pulled at Talia’s shirt around the wound in her side which was the deepest of her injuries.  Meg ignored her exclamations of agony as she dug her fingers into the wound, pulling against torn flesh to further expose the rends into Talia’s body.

            She had no idea what Meg was looking for and she was too preoccupied with the pain to care until she saw a slight reflection of light in the other woman’s eyes and looked down to see a slight blue glow emanating from the wound in her side.  Talia’s grace was radiating out from her wound as it glimmered in her blood, trying to protect her but it had now revealed the truth of who she was to someone who would most certainly use that information for nefarious purposes.

            Meg moved her hands to wrap them around Talia’s neck like one would embrace a lover and leaned in to whisper, “My, my don’t we have quite the little secret.”  Her voice had a seductive undertone to it that was decidedly creepy. “Who would have thought that I’d caught myself a real-life angel. Must be my lucky day.”  Staring at Talia’s face and ignoring the harsh scowl sent her way, Meg seemed to talk to herself as she muttered, “Don’t know how I didn’t sense it before…you are quite the conundrum.”

            Talia smirked mockingly, “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

            “Now tell me, how are you able to conceal your power so well?”

            Stalling for time, Talia tried to think of a response to keep the conversation going for as long as possible. “Now why would I go telling you that when I’d get nothing in return. Make me an offer and I’ll consider sharing my secret.”

            The blonde was about to respond when a noise like the clinking of metal on metal came from where Dean was tied up.  Meg strolled over behind the post to which he was tied and took away the knife he’d been using, tossing it away into the corner.  She then swung back around to Talia and leaned over her once more. “Now, were you just trying to distract me while Dean cuts free?”

            “Me?” Talia scoffed, “Of course not.” She pulled her hands up slightly behind her back and smirked triumphantly when she felt the rope fall away, severed while Meg had been distracted by Dean. “I have my own knife.” 

            She allowed herself a brief moment to appreciate the total confusion on Meg’s face before she grabbed the smaller girl’s shoulders in her own and head-butted her with all her might. Of course, a move like that never goes well for either party and Talia was slightly dazed by the pain in her head. Luckily, Meg had taken it even worse and was lying back on the floor, groaning in pain.

            “Talia! Get the altar.” Dean shouted, waking her out of her stupor. Talia lurched to her feet, still holding a hand to her head as she made her way to the altar in the middle of the room.  With a grunt, she grabbed the underside of the table and flipped it over, sending the various contents flying, many of them shattering upon impact with the floor.

            Talia then turned to watch the Daeva that had been hovering in the corner of the room, sweep down and grab Meg by her ankle before dragging her along the floor and heaving her through the large window.  The glass shattered instantly upon her body’s impact and Talia saw her body plummet down out of view and towards the street below until Meg’s screaming cut off abruptly.

            Wasting no time, Talia hurried over to where the brothers were still tied up and staring in surprise at the shattered window as if they couldn’t quite believe what had happened.  She grabbed her knife from where she’d dropped it and used to it cut the ropes restraining their hands and helped them to their feet.  The trio than walked over to the window frame to peer down and see Meg’s broken body lying on the side walk amidst a pile of broken glass shards that surrounded her corpse.

            “So, I guess the Daeva didn’t like being bossed around.” Sam noted.

            “Yeah,” Dean agreed, “I guess not.”

            There was silence as the three of them took a moment to gather their breaths and Talia pressed lightly on her torso to test her rib. Thankfully, although it hurt more than it had this morning, it didn’t appear to be broken again and she was grateful for that.  Dean’s voice was the first to break the silence as he remarked:

            “Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that’s not so buckets-o’-crazy, huh?” He smiled at his younger brother and walked away while Talia laughed and gave Sam a reassuring pat on the back before turning to follow after Dean.

* * *

 

            Talia was behind Sam and Dean when they stepped into the motel room so she didn’t see whatever it was that made them freeze as soon as Sam flicked on the light.  One second they were talking comfortably and the next they both tensed up as Dean called out aggressively, “Hey!”

            Talia peered around his side to see a figure standing in the shadows by the window across the room.  He slowly turned around and the light crept across his face to reveal John Winchester and Talia went stiff with shock at the sight of the man they’d spent so long searching for, standing there with a small, tentative smile on his face.

            “Dad?” Dean questioned in a cautiously hopeful tone as if he couldn’t believe the sight in front of him and Talia snuck her hand forward to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.

            “Hey, boys.” John’s smile grew a little but the three Winchesters all remained stationary as if unsure what to do in this situation.

            Talia could practically see the excitement strumming through Dean’s muscles and she knew he was ecstatic to see his father again yet he glanced back at her with hesitancy written across his face.  She smiled warmly at him and gave him a gentle nudge forward with her hands on his back.  The small gesture was all that was needed for father and son to approach each other. Talia could see the strong emotion on John’s face as he and Dean embraced tightly, sharing a long hug before releasing each other. 

            She was surprised by how overjoyed she was to see John alive and she was even happier to see how relieved Dean was to see his father again.  However, despite how much she truly had missed the man who’d helped raise her for most her life, she wasn’t sure exactly where the two of them stood considering how they’d last left things. So instead of stepping forward to hug him like she wanted to, she stood timidly next to Dean, unsure of how John would receive her.

            Her fears were erased when John grinned softly at her and opened his arms out ever so slightly.  It was all the invitation she needed to leap towards him and revel in the feeling of relief and safety as he wrapped her in his arms while she clung to him and appreciated the fact that he was safe.

            “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Talia mumbled.

            “It’s good to see you too, Talia.” John replied and she could hear the smile in his voice.

            She stepped back a moment later, retreating back to stand by Dean, and then she noticed that Sam was awkwardly standing a couple feet back, looking even more hesitant than Talia had as he sadly watched his father.  Talia was anxious to see how this interaction would go since the last time the two had seen each other it had not ended on a good note.

            She was surprised to see that John seemed rather unsure as well as he looked Sam up and down before greeting simply, “Hi, Sam.”

            “Hey, Dad.” Sam’s reply was soft and he quickly broke eye contact to set the bag of weapons he was carrying onto the floor.  Talia desperately hoped that one of them would say more but in typical Winchester fashion neither of them was willing to talk about anything emotional. 

            The awkward tension was finally broken when Dean spoke up, “Dad, it was a trap. I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”  The elation from earlier was gone from his face and Talia mourned its brief existence.

            “It’s all right. I thought it might’ve been.” John’s tone was back to business mode and Talia could tell the sentimental greetings were over.

            “Were you there?” Talia inquired curiously.

            “Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive.”  He chuckled drily and asked with a wry smile, “She was the bad guy, right?”

            “Yes, sir.” The trio chorused simultaneously.

            “Good.” John nodded, “Well, it doesn’t surprise me. It’s tried to stop me before.”

            “The demon has?” Sam’s voice was incredulous.

            “It knows I’m close. It knows I’m gonna kill it.” There was a familiar fire in John’s eyes as he spoke. “Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell but actually kill it.”

            Talia couldn’t believe what he was saying, she didn’t think that was even possible and Dean must have been wondering the same thing as they both questioned at the same time, “How?”

            He only smiled knowingly at them, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes, “I’m working on that.”

            “Let us come with you.” Sam offered desperately, “We’ll help.”

            “No, Sam. Not yet.” John’s denial was quick but uncharacteristically gentle as he explained, “Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don’t want you caught in a crossfire. I don’t want you hurt.”

            “Dad, you don’t have to worry about us.” Sam argued and Talia couldn’t help but agree with him. They three of them had long since passed the point of needing protecting but John’s reply knocked all the wind out of her argument.

            “Of course I do. I’m your father.” His voice was rough with affectionate emotion and he cleared his throat for a moment before looking back up at his youngest son. “Listen Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight.” Sam made a noise of agreement. “It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time.”

            “Too long.” Sam confirmed and there were tears in the eyes of both men as they stared silently at each other for a long, weighted moment before finally embraced each other.  Talia felt tears burn in her own eyes as she watched father and son finally reunite and she looked over at Dean with a smile only to see him watching his family with the same happiness she felt reflected in his stare.

            Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention and she turned her gaze only to be horrified by the sight of the Daeva lunging towards John.  Before she could utter a cry in warning, he was thrown backwards into a wall of cabinets and collapsed limply onto the floor.  The shadow creature immediately darted towards the remaining trio, but Talia lunged forward to meet it, tackling it head on in an admittedly stupid maneuver but it was the first action that came to mind.

            The two of them crashed to the floor and Talia let out a groan as a spike of pain radiated from the wound on her side.  She tried to roll away from the Daeva but the monster recovered much quicker and sent her flying into the wall with a sickening thud.  Her head collided sharply against the plaster and she blacked out for only a moment or two but when she had her wits about her enough to focus on the room again, things did not look good.

            Both Dean and Sam were lying sprawled out on the floor, both sporting fresh wounds courtesy of the razor-sharp claws of the Daeva.  The scent of iron was sharp in the room and blood splattered across the walls like a macabre painting while the agonized cries of John Winchester rang out.  He was slumped against the cabinets where he’d been thrown and the Daeva hovered over him, tearing into him viscously with its claws.

            Remembering its effectiveness from earlier, Talia withdrew her dagger from her jacket.  The blade was still covered in her now dried blood and she hurriedly wiped it against the wound on her side to slather it in a fresh coating.  Lurching upwards, she limped towards where the Daeva continued to slash into John and cursed at it in Enochian, hoping that by evoking the angelic language she could distract it.

            She successfully got its attention and it left John alone on the floor to come towards her but unfortunately it had also learned to be wary of her blade and stayed away from its deadly iron, turned a slick red with the heavy coating of her blood.  She swiped at it to keep it back as she stood protectively in front of Sam and Dean who were lying on the floor behind her. 

            She was determined to put an end to the demon but she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get close enough to actually stab it while also avoiding its claws. Blood loss was making her unsteady on her feet and she sensed that she didn’t have much energy left to keep fighting, she was barely keeping the demon back as it was and its fear of her blade wouldn’t last forever.  Suddenly, she noticed Sam crawling towards his duffle bag on the floor and hurriedly withdrawing a small cylindrical object.

            It was a brilliant idea, his plan, but she could see his blood covered hands slipping on the object and she knew he needed time to ignite it.  So, for the second time, she tackled the Daeva and managed to slice it with her dagger while she kept all its attention on her.  The creature struggled wildly beneath her and knocked the weapon from her hand, sending it flying across the room with a clatter. She refused to let it up, even when white-hot pain erupted in her face was its flailing claws scored into her flesh. 

            Warm, thick blood seeped from the wound and covered her right eye completely but still she clung fiercely on until she heard Sam cry out, “Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so let’s light ‘em up!”  Talia immediately rolled off the Daeva and left it completely exposed to the blinding light that exploded in the room as Sam finally lit the flare.  There was a piercing shriek of pain and she assumed it was gone; her eyes were still tightly shut against the brilliant light.

            Every muscle in her body complained as she pulled herself to her feet but she ignored the pain radiating from her wounds and forced her drained body to move.  She searched for Dean using the piece of grace in him and stumbled towards him as she moved blindly through the room.  When she got to him, she slowly reached her hand forward until she hit the fabric of his jacket and then worked her way down his arm until she grasped his hand and helped pull him up.

            “Dad!” Dean yelled the moment he’d reached his feet, turning his face searchingly although his eyes remained closed.

            “Over here!” John’s reply announced his position across the room. Neither of them were steady on their feet and Talia and Dean leaned heavily on one another as they made their way over.  Sam helped John to his feet, carrying most of his father’s weakened frame while leading the way out of the room. 

            Talia snagged the duffle bag on the way out and the four of them fled the motel room and the glaring light of the flare, a beacon in the darkness of the night.  They limped swiftly down the stairs that lead to the street.  Hair was plastered to the side of her head with blood and she could only see through one eye. Blood soaked her shirt as well and she used her free hand, the one not wrapped around Dean, to put pressure on her side to stifle the crimson liquid seeping out.

            “All right, come on.” Sam declared as they reached the Impala. Releasing his father to grab the duffle from Talia and toss it into the backseat. “We don’t have much time. As soon as the flare’s out, it’ll be back.”

            “Wait, wait.” Dean gently pulled Talia to a stop when she made to get in and she glanced back at him to see a pained but determined expression on his face before he looked to John. “Dad you can’t come with us.”

            “What?” Sam was aghast. “What are you talking about?”

            Even John seemed surprised by the suggestion. “You boys, you’re beat to hell.”  He was right, Talia noticed, all of them bore the marks of the Daeva’s claws.  None of their faces was free from blood and they would all need some serious first aid soon.

            “It got us pretty good,” She admitted, “But we’ve had worse. We’ll be alright.”

            “Guys, we should stick together.” Sam pleaded desperately, “We’ll go after those demons-“

            “Sam! Listen to me!” There was a pause as Dean breathed heavily, “We almost got Dad killed in there. Don’t you understand? They’re not gonna stop, they’re gonna try again. They’re gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right.” His voice was anguished as he continued, “Dad’s vulnerable when he’s with us. He’s-” His voice caught on the words like he couldn’t quite bare to admit it, “he’s stronger without us around.”

            Sam stared at his brother in betrayal, before giving up on him and switching to look at his father. “Dad, no.” The desperation in his voice hurt to hear and Talia felt Dean turn his face away to hide it against the top of her head. She knew it pained him even more to tell John he had to leave after seeing how distraught Sam was.  Talia wasn’t sure there was any right answer in this situation so she remained silent and simply squeezed Dean’s side reassuringly in a half-hug.

            “After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you. Please, I gotta be a part of this fight.” Sam rested his hand on John’s shoulder and Talia could see the pleading, puppy-dog eyes aimed directly at his dad.

            “Sammy,” John grabbed onto his wrist, “this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you’ve got to trust me, son. Okay, you’ve gotta let me go.” Father and son stared at each other for a long moment as a struggle took place in Sam’s face. Finally, he patted John’s shoulder once and then withdrew his hand.

            Every pair of eyes were glimmering slightly as John turned to share a look with Dean. Talia felt his gaze fall to her and she tensed. The previous discussion had reminded her that she wasn’t technically supposed to be here. Last time she’d seen John, he’d told her she was done hunting and she feared he was remembering that order right now.  She didn’t know what she would do if he told Sam and Dean to take her back to that house.

            She saw him open his mouth and waited to hear the fateful words that would destroy her world. He seemed to hesitate a moment in thought before saying simply, “You’ve gotten stronger.”

            Talia would have been more surprised if she’d been struck by lightning. The corner of John’s mouth lifted marginally at the bug-eyed look she gave him before he strode over to his truck, parked just in front of the Impala.  John paused one final time, just outside the door and looked back at them once more. “Be careful, boys.”

            Dean guided Talia gently into the backseat of the Impala before getting into the driver’s seat while Sam silently slid into the passenger seat next to him.  The trio watched in silence as John’s car sped away in front of them, turning the corner on the end of the street and disappearing into the night.


	46. Chapter 46

            “Dean! Catch up.” Talia shouted over shoulder.  She saw him look up from where he’d stopped to stare into a patient’s room and then hurry to catch up to where she was waiting with Sam further down the hospital hallway.  Talia turned and lead the way to the pediatric ward on the second floor. 

            They were looking for the doctor that was in charge of caring for the young kids who had fallen ill to a strange outbreak that had erupted in the small town.  The trio was posing as agents from the Center for Disease Control and Talia was doing all the questioning because she had the most medical knowledge of the three.

            She immediately spotted the man they were looking for and pointed him out to Dean and Sam. “That’s our man.”

            “How do you know it’s him?” Sam asked.

            “You see that symbol on his badge pinned to his lab coat?” She pointed to a small laminated card hanging from the man’s pocket, “That means he’s the head doctor in this ward of the hospital.” She walked over to the man and offered her hand out in greeting while introducing herself with the fake name from her CDC badge.

            The man returned her handshake warmly and introduced himself as Dr. Heidecker and asked them to follow him while they talked after his pager went off on his belt. “I’m glad you guys are here, I was just about to call CDC myself.” He paused to turn off another alert on his pager, “How’d you find out anyways?”

            “Oh, some GP,” Talia said, “I forget his name, he called Atlanta and must have beat you to the punch. He said you have six cases so far?” She walked beside the doctor as she spoke.

            “Yeah, in five weeks. At first, we thought it was a garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. And now…” Dr. Heidecker trailed off as he stared sadly through the glass doors that separated the quarantined area where six beds were occupied by the small, fragile bodies of the afflicted children. 

            Their bodies were thin; dark bags weighed prominently beneath tired eyes and numerous tubes connected them to machines whose beeping could be heard through the glass separating them from the rest of the world.  Talia’s gut clenched at the sight of so many kids looking so close to death.  It wasn’t something a person ever wanted to see.

            “Now, what?” She prodded the doctor who’d never completed his sentence.

            “The kids aren’t responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems aren’t doing their job, it’s like their bodies are wearing out.”

            Talia frowned, considering this information. “Have you ruled out the possibility of a viral infection rather than a bacterial disease? Maybe something is attacking the leukocytes. Have you run tests on their bone marrow? Could be some auto-immune disorder.”

            “We’ve run every test we could think of with no luck.  We did consider a virus but if is one, it’s nothing we’ve ever heard of. That’s why I’m hoping you guys can help.”  The doctor himself had bags under his eyes and Talia wondered how much sleep he’d been getting during this whole nightmare.

            A young nurse approached the doctor and handed him a clipboard with forms on it for him to sign and, as he looked them over, Sam asked, “You ever see anything like this before?”

            “Never this severe.”

            “And the way it spreads…that’s a new one for me.” The nurse added.

            “What do you mean?” Talia said.

            “It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after the other.”

            Talia’s heart rate jumped, that certainly wasn’t normal behavior for any kind of pathogen she knew of, diseases didn’t usually spread so specifically. Her curiosity further peaked she inquired, “Do you think we could interview some of the kids?”

            “They’re not conscious.” The nurse said, a sad look in her eyes.

            Talia wrinkled her brow, “None of them?” The nurse shook her head with a frown. “Can we talk to the parents then?”

            Dr. Heidecker handed the clipboard to back to the nurse and looked back up at them. “If you think it will help.” He directed them down a hallway to where the father of the most recent admission was sitting in a chair against the wall. 

            There were dark circles beneath the man’s eyes and he seemed anxious to get back to his children as the trio questioned him, but he recounted the story of his two daughters falling ill within a day of each other.  Most of the information he gave them didn’t seem very helpful to Talia until he mentioned a window on the second story that was open despite it being closed when he put his daughter to sleep.

            “You know, this might not be anything supernatural, it might just be pneumonia.” Sam said as they made their way out of the hospital, having finished interviewing the father.

            “Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window.” Dean seemed thoughtful, “I don’t know man, Dad sent us down here for a reason. I think we may be barking up the right tree.”

            “Well, I’ll say this.” Talia said, “I bet that guy won’t be going home anytime soon.”

            Dean smirked at her proudly as he caught onto the implication in her words but then a second later he jerked his head away as the smile fell from his face.  She frowned slightly at the back of his head. There it was again. He’d been acting slightly off for a few days now and she wasn’t sure what was wrong. 

            Shaking it off, she approached a nurse sitting at the desk and smiled kindly. “Hi, can I get the files on the kid most recently admitted.” She flashed her fake CDC badge to hurry the process.

            The nurse slid open a filing cabinet and rifled through it before handing Talia a thin folder with a couple pieces of paper within.  Talia scanned through it, immediately spotting the information she needed but flipping through the papers a couple times for appearance’s sake.  A minute later she handed the folder back to the nurse with a quick thank you before she headed towards the exit.

            The Winchesters trailed behind her in silence until Dean finally asked in confusion, “What did you do that for? The doctor already told us all the information about her condition.”

            Talia smiled over her shoulder at him. “Yeah, but patient files always have a home address on them. Figured it was easier than waiting for you to find that information online.”

            A quick drive across town later and one picked lock later and the three of them were canvasing the second story bedroom of the little girl that had fallen ill.  Dean was scanning with his EMF, Sam ran his black light around the doorway looking for any signs of a creature entering the room that way while Talia focused on the window the father had mentioned.

            “You guys got anything?” Sam called out.

            “No, nothing.” Dean said.

            Talia didn’t reply as she suddenly spotted something through the window and pushed it open to get a closer look.  On the edge of the roof, just on the other side of the window was a giant black handprint, with fingers too long to be human, indented into the wood.  Some creature had to have left the mark.

            “Talia?” Sam’s voice came from close behind her shoulder as she sensed both brothers approaching her. 

            She pointed at the mysterious handprint and said, “Well Dean, you were right. It’s definitely not pneumonia. The wood’s all rotted.”

            “What the hell leaves a handprint like that?” Sam said.

            Dean leaned in for a closer look and Talia waited for him to say ‘I told you so’ or something like it but suddenly he stiffened.  She called his name and placed a hand on his shoulder when he didn’t respond.  He stood up suddenly at her touch, shrugging her hand off.

            “I know why Dad sent us here. He faced this thing before and he wants us to finish the job.”  He walked out of the bedroom without another word.  Talia exchanged a confused glance with Sam before shrugging her shoulders and following Dean out of the house.  It wasn’t until they pulled up the motel where they’d decided to spend the night that Dean finally decided to say anything.

            “The handprint was left by something called a shtriga.” The name sent a niggling sensation of familiarity through her brain as if she’d heard it somewhere before, but she couldn’t remember where for the life of her.

            Sam didn’t seem as familiar with the word. “What the hell is a shtriga?”

            “It’s kinda like a witch, I think.” Dean was uncharacteristically hesitant in his explanation. “I don’t know much about them.”

            “Well I’ve never heard of it.” Sam said. “And it’s not in Dad’s journal.”

            Dean didn’t answer for a moment as he began pulling their bags from the trunk of the Impala and Talia watched him suspiciously as he moved. There was something off in his behavior.

            “Dad hunted on in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin about 16-17 years ago. You were there, you don’t remember?” Dean looked over at his younger brother.

            “No.”

            Shrugging, Dean seemed to dismiss this. “Guess he caught wind the thing is in Fitzburg now and kicked us the coordinates.

            “So wait, you think this Shtriga is the same on Dad hunted before?” Disbelief was evident in Sam’s voice.

            “Yeah maybe.”  Dean didn’t look up as he replied and grabbed the bags that were now packed as he walked towards the motel office.

            Talia finally spoke up, voicing what she was sure Sam was struggling to articulate. “But if your Dad went after it, how is it still alive?”

            “Cause it got away.” He replied shortly.

            “Got away?” The idea was preposterous to her. John Winchester didn’t just let monsters get away. He was too good for that.

            “Yeah, Talia. It happens.” Dean shot her a look of frustration that told her to just let it go but she wasn’t dropping it that easily.

            “It doesn’t happen very often.”

            Dean stopped walking to turn and face her fully as he threw his hands up in the air. “Well I don’t know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn’t have his Wheaties that morning.”

            She felt it again, the slightest of feelings that something wasn’t quite right with him but she couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.  Prying for more information, she asked, “Do you remember anything else?”

            “No, I was a kid all right. Just drop it.” He turned abruptly and flung open the door to the reception area.

            Talia stared blankly at the door, feeling the sting of Dean’s tone like a needle in her chest.  She didn’t realize she had frozen completely until Sam laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

            “You coming in?”

            She shook her head slowly. “No, I’m just gonna…I’ll just wait outside.”

            Talia felt like a faulty lighter the entire time they were researching Shtriga in the motel room.  Her brain kept sparking with recognition at the facts, but the fire wouldn’t catch and the memory of where she’d heard of it before continued to elude her grasp.  She was less concerned with her faulty memory though and becoming ever concerned that Dean was hiding something. He had produced information about the witches, like the fact they were vulnerable to consecrated iron bullets when they were feeding on a life force, but then he closed down when asked if he remembered anything else.

            She and Sam had both exchanged exasperated looks at this but silently agreed to let it slide. Dean wasn’t going to be forced into sharing anything until he was good and ready and they were both too focused on the case to try and force it out of him.  Thankfully they had some success and figured out that the hospital was the center point of all the attacks and was the most likely location for where the Shtriga would be hanging out in a human disguise.  That only left them to figure out what human the creature was hiding as.

            Dean suggested it might be a creepy old lady he’d seen in the hospital with an inverted cross in her room, which he explained as the reason he’d stopped suddenly in the hallway earlier.  However, a quick trip to the hospital revealed that she was most certainly not a monster in disguise, just a normal, crotchety old lady with cataracts.  With no other leads, the trio returned to the motel disappointed, although Sam was still amused about Dean aiming his gun at the harmless old woman and was in good enough humor to tease him about it.

            Talia was in the middle of laughing at the brothers’ antics when she noticed a forlorn looking young boy sitting on a bench outside the motel office.  She pointed it out and saw a light of recognition in Dean’s eyes and the three of them walked over to talk to the child. 

            Talia watched Dean interact with the boy with a warmth in her chest.  She always loved watching him interact with children as it revealed a gentler side to him that he didn’t often let others see.  As Dean comforted the kid, who was distraught and blaming himself for his brother falling ill, Talia couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the pair as she heard the boy tell Dean that it was his job to look after his little brother.

            The mother soon came rushing out of the office, her arms full of stuff as she hastily began throwing it into her car while shouting instructions to her son, Michael, about what to do while she was gone.  Michael began protesting that he wanted to come with his mother, demanding that he get to see his little brother and when he continued to argue with his flustered mother, Dean stepped in to interrupt.

            “Hey, Michael. I know you how feel, but you gotta go easy on your mom right now, ok?”

            The mother cursed as she dropped her handbag and Sam quickly grabbed it for her and she accepted from him gratefully.  Talia felt a wave of sympathy for the mother as she watched the woman’s frantic and clumsy movements.  The woman was distraught over her son falling ill and clearly struggling to function as she swiftly pressed a goodbye kiss to Michael’s forehead.

            Dean seemed to be having similar thoughts as he interrupted the woman and offered to drive her to the hospital.  After only mild protestations, she accepted, and he guided her gently into the passenger seat of her car.  He paused on his way around the car to lean over to Talia and lean over with a heat of anger in his eyes to say, “We’re going to kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?”

            After Dean left, Talia and Sam made their way to the closest library to do some research.  The comforting smells of musty paper and the clacking of keyboards surrounded them as they labored away at a small table in the corner. Books were spread open before them, papers scattered about in piles and Sam had his laptop open in the middle of the table, adding to the mess.

            Sam was currently scanning internet for information about previous incidences involving the Shtriga while Talia worked on researching the case that happened when John was hunting the monster.  She was trying to figure out what had happened that was making Dean so tight-lipped about the matter.  She was scanning old newspaper articles from Fort Douglas when she spotted a map showing the location of the town right below the date of the article and suddenly it hit her. Like a wave of cold water, the memory crashed over her, numbing her and drowning out everything around her.

* * *

(15 years ago)

 

            The loud rumble of a car engine shattered the innocent silence of the suburban neighborhood.  The noise echoed off the vacant asphalt of the road and the familiar noise caused a young girl to jolt awake from her peaceful slumber.  Her brain had recognized the sound even in the deepest levels of sleep and her body responded accordingly as she stumbled to the window, peeking through the blinds to see headlights on the road growing closer.

            Talia’s heart lightened when she recognized the black Impala cruising towards the home and all thoughts of sleep fled from her mind as she rushed into her father’s room just across the hall.  She pushed through the door and jumped onto the empty spot on the bed, her tiny hands hurriedly shaking her dad’s sleeping form.

            “Daddy, daddy! Wake up! The Impala is here! Dean’s coming!”

            She received only a deep grumble of acknowledgement as a sign that he was awake and that’s all it took for her to tumble off the bed.  She darted from the room as fast as her legs would carry and nearly stumbled down the stairs in her haste to get to the front door.  Feet slipping on the slick hardwood floor, she nearly slammed into the oak door before she caught herself.

            She went to the window on the wall next to the door and lifted the corner of the curtain just enough to peek through and look at the front stoop where she knew she’d soon spy a familiar trio.  Although excitement thrummed in her veins, she knew better than to open the door before she had seen herself that it was a familiar face on the other side.

            She couldn’t quite contain herself though. It had been so long since they’d visited after all.  The door was thrust open right before John Winchester could stop to ring the doorbell and there was a brief moment where shock covered his face as the door rushed open before him to reveal a tiny young girl waiting eagerly on the other side.

            Talia heard her father chuckling behind her, but she paid him no attention as a grin split her face as she peered eagerly around John’s large frame, searching for her best friend.  Dean was standing slightly behind his father, his arm wrapped protectively around his younger brother which was far from unusual.  What caused Talia’s brow to furrow and confusion to swarm her mind was when he refused to meet her gaze and didn’t return her excitement at seeing him.

            She drew her gaze back to John and took in the stoic expression on his face along with the subtle spark of anger in his eyes.  Immediately she knew that this was a drop off.  That wasn’t the look he wore when they came by for a friendly visit.  It was a look that Talia had quickly learned, in the few times she got to see him, that meant that John Winchester was not a happy man.  It also meant that Dean was upset as well.  She knew his mood was best predicted by his father’s.

            The frown dropped from her face and she stepped aside, holding the door open. “Hello sir, come in.” John nodded at her and her father before walking through the threshold confidently.  Dean slowly lead Sammy in behind their father, his entire posture slumped as if he was trying to make himself as small as possible without anyone noticing.  Talia felt her own shoulders fall and she wondered what had happened.

            She was so caught up in trying to read Dean that she didn’t hear any of the whispered conversation between the two men behind her.  All she heard was a whispered thank you from John before he clapped her dad on the shoulder and slipped out the door.  He was gone as quickly as he arrived, the only proof of his presence at all was the two young boys standing beside her.

            The entryway of the home was quiet as all four people stood solemnly listening to the retreating sound of the Impala engine.  It growled into the night air until distance deafened the noise and silence took over once more.  Talia turned to her father questioningly, seeking some sort of answer for whatever had just happened.  She saw him staring blankly at the door through which John had just exited, looking just as perplexed as she felt.

            Her movement seemed to startle him into motion and he approached the young Winchester pair.  He reached his hand out to Sam and said, “Hey Sam, I bet you’re tired. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll get your room set up?”

            Sam was still in his pajamas and his fluffy brown hair was sticking in every direction like he’d been dragged straight from bed to come here.  He looked to be half-asleep already, even standing up and didn’t offer any protests to the words as he stretched out small fingers to cling to her dad’s hand.

            However, he couldn’t move from Dean’s arm that was latched tightly around him. Dean had a fierce look on his face and didn’t seem ready to let his little brother out of his sight.  Talia took this as her cue to step forward and latch onto Dean’s free arm, knowing not to try and forcibly pull him away.

            “Dean, come on. We can go to my room to wait.” When his protective posture didn’t change she added, “It’s okay, Dean. My dad will take care of Sam. He’ll be safe, I promise.”

            Sharp green eyes met hers, their serious gaze matching his tone as he asked, “You promise?”

            “Cross my heart and hope to die.” She nodded, just as serious as him as she made the motion with her hand over her chest. “Stick a bajillion needles in my eye.”  The lighting in the room was poor but she swore she caught just the slightest twitch at the corner of his mouth at the last part. 

            Regardless, her words caused his face to relax slightly and he finally released Sam to go off with her dad who led the youngest Winchester down the hallway to the spare bedroom.  Now that Dean had calmed down, Talia pulled him with her up the stairs and into her room.  She went straight to the small wooden desk in the corner and grabbed the deck of cards tucked safely in the bottom drawer.

            She plopped down on the floor, sitting cross-legged across from Dean who copied her position.  For the next hour, the only sound in the room was the small slapping noise of the plastic covered cards hitting each other and the subtle rustling of cards being shuffled around in a hand as the two children played round after round.  After the first 15 minutes of quiet, Talia began glancing up at Dean’s face after every hand.  The small lamp on her desk cast half his face in shadows and she struggled to read his expression, trying to sense if he was ready.

            But every time, his face remained the same and he didn’t say a word so neither did she.  She’d continue shuffling the cards and then deal another hand, patiently waiting for him to start a conversation.  She dealt, and he talked.  That’s just how it went.  Although it had never taken this long for the silence to be broken before.

            “Hey kids, Sam’s asleep downstairs.” The voice in the doorway startled them both and Talia dropped her cards in shock at the sudden sound as she turned to see her father standing just inside her room. “Dean, your stuff is in Sam’s room. Make sure to turn the light off before you fall asleep, Talia.”  Once both kids nodded in agreement to his words, he turned to leave with a sigh. “Alright, goodnight.”

            Talia had gotten so used to not speaking that it didn’t even cross her mind to respond until her father was already gone.

            “I-I’m gonna check on Sammy.” Dean said, his voice slightly scratchy. He clambered to his feet and headed out the door without another word.

            Once again, Talia was looking at the doorway in shock, but it only took her a few seconds to recover before she too was on her feet.  Instead of following Dean though, she walked to her bed and pulled her favorite blanket off the top: a giant fluffy down comforter.  She pulled both pillows off the bed and tossed it onto the blanket on the floor.  Then, she went to the hallway cabinets and pulled a couple spare blankets from the shelf, straining on the top of her toes to reach.

            With blankets and pillows tossed together in a pile on the floor, she grabbed the mess and began dragging out of her room and down the stairs, using the bottom blanket to slide it all along the floor.  She had to walk backwards to pull it behind her but thankfully she knew exactly where she was going so she only had to glance back occasionally to make sure she stopped at the right door.

            She reached the door to the guest room where Sam always stayed and pushed it open with her back as she hauled in her supplies.  The pile was almost as big as she was, and it almost got stuck in the doorway.  When she finally got it into the middle of the room, she let it all fall to the floor with a small sense of accomplishment.

            “What are you doing?” Dean whispered as he stood by Sam’s bed and looked at her as if he thought she’d lost her mind.

            “I brought blankets and pillows so we could sleep in here on the floor.” Talia said simply, shrugging her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal. “That way you can still be close to your brother while you sleep.”

            She saw Dean’s face contort with several different emotions, but he didn’t respond although she felt him watching her as she spread the blankets out across the ground and crafted a makeshift bed on the floor beside the bed where Sam slumbered peacefully.  Dean remained quiet through the whole process but didn’t hesitate to crawl under the blankets next to her when it was done.

            The pair lay next to each other staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes before Talia said, “I’m sorry for whatever happened today that upset you.”  She hoped he would take this as a cue to start talking. He always seemed to feel better after he told her stories of the fantastical things that he’d seen or that his father had done.  She wasn’t entirely sure all of it was true, but they were great stories all the same although they scared her sometimes.

            Dean tensed up beside her and yet again he didn’t respond so she muttered a simple goodnight to him and then curled up on her side facing him and vowed to herself that she’d try and get him to talk in the morning.

            An hour passed and still sleep hadn’t come to her, when she heard Dean start speaking out of nowhere.  She opened her eyes and almost went to respond when he continued talking and she realized he thought she was asleep.  Immediately she snapped shut her eyes and feigned sleep while strained her ears to catch the words that he whispered so low she could barely hear them despite being only a foot away.

            The words tumbled out of his mouth in a constant stream, like a dam had been broken when he started and there was no stopping.  He rambled out the entire story of his dad hunting a Shtriga and how he’d made one stupid, awful mistakes, let his own emotions overrule his responsibilities, and it had almost cost Sam his life.

            Talia lost all pretense of sleep when near the end of the tale Dean’s voice cut off with a shuddering breath and she sat up suddenly and threw her arms around his neck.  Pulling him close she wished that she could shield him from all the pain she felt radiating from him now that he’d finally dropped down his walls.  Dean seemed to cling to her as strongly as she did and if she felt the sleeve of her shirt getting a little damp beneath his face she didn’t say a thing.

            Caleb Andrews walked into the guest room of his house the next morning in search of his daughter only to stumble on two small forms lying in a pile of blankets on the floor.  He backed out of the room to let them sleep and shut the door quietly behind him with a small smile on his face.


End file.
